Borradaile, 1910
Diagnosis:
Two teeth between frontal horns and the cervical groove. Postorbital spine absent. Tubercles of carapace usually distinct and not obscured by the pubescense. Median keel of carapace with 3 postcervical and 2 (occasionally 3 or 4) intestinal teeth. Eyes small, longer than broad. Fifth pereiopod of male chelate.
Type:
Type locality: "Dredged in 125 fathoms off Saya de Malha bank", western Indian Ocean. Holotype in ZMC, lost. Neotype locality: "N.E. of Ouro Point, southern Mozambique, approx. 26°50'S 33°00'E, depth 320 metres". Neotype male, selected by Berry (1969:240), in RMNH no. D. 25535.
Geographical Distribution:
Western Indian Ocean: Zanzibar, Mozambique, Natal (South Africa), Madagascar, Saya de Malha Bank.
Habitat and Biology:
Known from depths between 228 and 450 m; on soft substrates (sandy mud, or sand).
Size:
Maximum total body length: 18 cm (males), and 20 cm (females); maximum carapace length: 6.4 cm (males), and 7.4 cm (females); average total body length about 15 to 16 cm.
Interest to Fisheries:
Very slight at present. Although evidently occurring on trawlable bottoms, very few specimens have been accidentally taken by trawlers.