Globe Purse Crab, Persephona subovata

Globe Purse Crab, Persephona subovata. Crab provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, February 2011. Size 2.7 cm (1.1 inches) x 2.4 cm (0.9 inches). Identification courtesy of Don Cadien, Marine Biology Laboratory, Carson, California.

General information: The Globe Purse Crab, Persephona subovata (Rathbun, 1894), is a fairly common but poorly documented member of the Purse Crab or Leucosiidae Family. They are known in Mexico  as Cangrejo Avellana Ggris. There are five individuals found within the Persephona Genus.

Identification: The Globe Purse Crab is characterized by a round global appearance with a reddish-brown carapace (shell) covered in various maroon blotches and 3 light colored dots along each side, the carapace is longer than it is wide and has three spines (the middle one being slightly longer than the other adjacent pair) projecting off the bottom. The chela (claws) are long and slender; the chelipd (entire claw) are narrow and three times the length of the carapace; the outer margin of the palm is three times longer as it is wide. Looking from above the margins of the shell are clearly granulated. The Globe Purse Crab reach a maximum of 3.8 cm (1.5 inches) width by 2.9 cm (1.1 inches) depth.

Habitat and Range: The Globe Purse Crabs reside at depths between 24 m (60 feet) and 91 m (300 feet). They are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from north of Punta Abreojos, Baja California Sur, along the central and northwest coasts of the Baja Peninsula and from north of Islas Ángel de la Guarda and Isla Tiburón in the Sea of Cortez.

Diet:  The diet of the Globe Purse Crab is very poorly studied however we can assume they are omnivorous scavengers.

Conservation Status:  From a conservation perspective the Globe Purse Crab has not been formally evaluated. However, they are common and of limited interest to most and should be considered to be of Least Concern. They are a deepwater crab and a common catch for deep water trawlers accounting for 5% of the crustacean biomass at 61 m (200 feet) to 91 m (300 feet).

Synonyms:  Myra subovata and lliacantha hancocki.