| Hapalogaster cavicauda | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Family: | Lithodidae |
| Genus: | Hapalogaster |
| Species: | H. cavicauda |
| Binomial name | |
| Hapalogaster cavicauda | |
Hapalogaster cavicauda is aspecies ofking crab that lives on thePacific coast ofNorth America.
Hapalogaster cavicauda is a flattened,crab-likecrustacean. It grows to acarapace width of 20 millimetres (0.79 in),[2] and is covered insetae (hairs). The hairs on the third maxilliped are used tofilterplankton from the water, which the animal feeds on, together withalgae scraped from rocks.[3] The females carry theireggs on the tail in winter.[3]
H. cavicauda is found along thePacific coast ofNorth America fromCape Mendocino in the north, through theChannel Islands,[4] toIsla San Jerónimo,Mexico in the south.[5] It usually lives beneath rocks in the lower part of theintertidal zone.[2]
The related speciesH. mertensii occurs further north, but shares a similar ecology to that ofH. cavicauda.[3]
The species wasfirst described byWilliam Stimpson in 1859 (as apreprint of an article published in 1862). He based the description on a specimen collected by "Mr. A. S. Taylor" atMonterey, California.[6]
Media related toHapalogaster cavicauda at Wikimedia Commons
