Pisa armata

Description

Pisa armata grows to a length of 40 mm. Its carapace is roughly triangular, with two prominent rostral spines, which are parallel in males, but divergent in females. The carapace is brown, but is often covered in seaweed, sponges or anemones.

Distribution

Pisa armata is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from around the Isle of Man as far south as Angola, as well as in parts of the Mediterranean Sea. It lives at depths of 1 -.

Ecology

Pisa armata is parasitised by a rhizocephalan barnacle. Although initially considered to be the same species that attacks other crabs such as Carcinus maenas, experiments in the 1960s demonstrated that the two were different species, Sacculina carcini on C. maenas, and Sacculina gibbsi on P. armata.

References

References

1. Charles Fransen & Michael Türkay. (2011). "''Pisa armata'' (Latreille, 1803)".
2. Andrew Campbell. (2005). "Philip's Guide to Seashores and Shallow Seas of Britain and Northern Europe". [[Philip's (publisher).
3. R. W. Ingle & P. F. Clark. (1980). "The larval and post-larval development of Gibbs's spider crab, ''Pisa armata'' (Latreille) [family Majidae: subfamily Pisinae], reared in the laboratory". [[Journal of Natural History]].
4. H. Boschma. (1972). "On the occurrence of ''Carcinus maenas'' (Linnaeus) and its parasite ''Sacculina carcini'' Thompson in Burma, with notes on the transport of crabs to new localities". [[Zoologische Mededelingen]].