New Zealand Half Crab

The carapace is flattened with smooth side and rear margins, width is up to 18 mm (0.71 in), and long whip-like antennae grow from the front corners, with the short rostrum extending beyond the large prominent eyes. The animal either filter feeds with long setae borne from the maxilliped palps, or scavenges by chopping up flesh with the second maxilliped and further shredding with the mandibles. The large chelipeds are generally smooth with no teeth or serrations, mainly used for territorial defense among males, who usually have one enlarged. Chelipeds and legs bear randomly located spines which can break off with wear, and these areas are dorsally coloured the same as the carapace, in black, blue, greenish or greyish, the ventral areas lighter.

P. elongatus is native to all areas of New Zealand but has also been introduced to Tasmania and Victoria, Australia. In New Zealand it inhabits mussel beds, wharf pilings, estuaries, and the intertidal zone on rocky shores, where it is abundant beneath boulders and stones.