E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Wildlife of British Columbia

Pachycheles rudis Stimpson, 1858
Thick Clawed Porcelain Crab
Family: Porcellanidae

Species account author: Josephine Hart.
Extracted from Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia.
Photo of species

© Aaron Baldwin  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #2408)

E-Fauna BC Static Map
Distribution of Pachycheles rudis in British Columbia
Details about map content are available here.

Species Information

Carapace about as broad as long, convex with flat granules; front with short stiff setae. Chelipeds rugose and granular with a large granulated knob at base of fixed finger. Chelipeds and walking legs with setae, some of which are plumose. Telson of 5 plates. Male with a pair of gonopods on 2nd segment of abdomen. Female with paired uniramous pleopods on segments 3 to 5.

Size

Carapace: male 19 x 19 mm, female 18.5 x 18.5 mm.

Colour

Carapace mottled and striated with grey, brown and white and some with blue granules; white “commas” on branchial region. Chelipeds greenish brown with grey and bluish granules. There is an orange spot at junction of carpus and propodus which is hidden when bent; fingers blue with white tips. Walking legs reticulated brown, grey and white; dactyls banded with dark grey and white; claws brown. Eyestalk dark grey; cornea black with red rim. Abdomen grey-green, tan and white with light median streak.

Habitat


Usually found intertidally under stones, in holdfasts of kelp or any well-protected area or crevice. Male and female cohabit.

Distribution

Range

Kodiak, Alaska, to Bahia de la Magdalena, Baja California, Mexico; intertidal to 29 m.
Distribution In British Columbia

Found on the open coast and, rarely, as far east as Victoria.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)
COSEWIC
UnlistedUnlistedUnlistedUnlisted
BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Additional Photo Sources

General References


Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2021. E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia [efauna.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2025-02-10 3:02:26 AM]
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© E-Fauna BC 2021: An initiative of the Spatial Data Lab, Department of Geography, UBC