PORT PHILLIP BAY


Balmain Bug 

Ibacus peronii Leach, 1815

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Carapace evenly granulate, with cover of short setae, strongly depressed, with a deep lateral cervical incision, dorsal surface smooth, with distinct longitudinal medial and branchial carinae; distance between eyes about equal to distance from eye to margin. Branchial ridges markedly curved. Antennule article 4 laterally toothed. Maxilliped 3 merus raised with transverse septa. Exopods of all maxillipeds with multiarticulate flagellum. Dull reddish in colour.

Source: Poore, G.C.B. (2004) Marine decapod Crustacea of southern Australia. A guide to identification (with chapter on Stomatopoda by Shane Ahyong). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 574 pp.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Subclass:
Eumalacostraca
Superorder:
Eucarida
Order:
Decapoda
Suborder:
Pleocyemata
Infraorder:
Palinura
Family:
Scyllaridae
Genus:
Ibacus
Species:
peronii

General Description

Body flat and wide, rounded head, red to pink-brown. Up to 20 cm long (head to tail tip).

Biology

Balmain Bugs burrow in sand, leaving only their stalked eyes poking up into the water above. The flat plates at the front of the head are a pair of modified antennae, instead of the whip-like ones on other crustaceans.

Habitat

Areas with soft sediment, including sand and mud, to depth of 250 m.

Soft substrates

Distribution guide

Southern Australia.

Species Group

Prawns, shrimps, lobsters › Lobsters

Depth

Shallow (1-30 m)
Deep ( > 30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

20 cm

Diet

Carnivore

Commercial Species

Yes

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Species Code

MoV 1771

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Not listed
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Least Concern

Author

article author Taylor, J.

Dr. Jo Taylor is the Sciences Collections Online Coordinator at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Poore, G.C.B.

Dr. Gary Poore is Principal Curator Emeritus at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Taylor, J. & Poore, G.C.B., 2011, Balmain Bug, Ibacus peronii, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 01 May 2024, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/4185

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