| Afruca tangeri | |
|---|---|
 | |
| male, Gambia | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Ocypodidae |
| Genus: | Afruca |
| Species: | A. tangeri |
| Binomial name | |
| Afruca tangeri (Eydoux, 1835) | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Afruca tangeri is a species of fiddler crab that lives along the Atlantic coasts of western Africa and southwestern Europe. [2]
Afruca tangeri is one of the largest species of fiddler crab, with a carapace up to 50 millimetres (2.0 in) wide, [3] and up to 25 mm (1.0 in) long. [4] The males have one claw much larger than the other, which they use for communication. [5] Body colouration is fairly dull for a fiddler crab, but individuals are a variety of colours from dull shades of brown, to bright orange, red or purple.
The range of Afruca tangeri extends from southern Portugal southwards to Angola;. [4] It is the only fiddler crab species on the Eastern Atlantic coast and the most abundant crab in The Gambia. [5]
Afruca tangeri was first described by Joseph Fortuné Théodore Eydoux in 1835 as Gelasimus tangeri, but for many years it was part of the genus Uca, which then contained all the fiddler crabs worldwide. Fiddler crabs, and all crabs in the family Ocipodidae have recently undergone a major taxonomic revision using new molecular phylogenetic evidence, [1] which divided the fiddler crabs into 13 new genera. Therefore, the West African fiddler crab now forms the only species in the new genus, Afruca. The specific epithet tangeri refers to the Gulf of Tangier, Morocco, the species' type locality. [4] The common name preferred by the Food and Agriculture Organization is West African fiddler crab (French : gélasime africain; Portuguese : boca-cava-terra). [6]
The fiddler crab or calling crab may be any of more than one hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae, well known for their sexually dimorphic claws; the males' major claw is much larger than the minor claw, while the females' claws are both the same size. A smaller number of ghost crab and mangrove crab species are also found in the family Ocypodidae. This entire group is composed of small crabs, the largest being slightly over two inches (5 cm) across. Fiddler crabs are found along sea beaches and brackish intertidal mud flats, lagoons, swamps, and various other types of brackish or salt-water wetlands.
The Ocypodidae are a family of semiterrestrial crabs that includes the ghost crabs and fiddler crabs. They are found on tropical and temperate shorelines around the world.
Leptuca pugilator, the sand fiddler crab, Atlantic sand fiddler crab, or Calico fiddler, is a species of fiddler crab that is found from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico. It lives in burrows in coastal and estuarine mud-flats, and can be extremely abundant. It can be differentiated from the morphologically similar Minuca pugnax and Minuca minax by the smoothness of the inside of its claws. One claw is larger than the other, and can be much larger than the crab's body, at up to 41 mm (1.6 in) long.
Minuca pugnax, commonly known as the Atlantic marsh fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab that lives on north-western shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
Paraleptuca chlorophthalmus, is a common fiddler crab found in the mangroves of East Africa, from Somalia to South Africa, as well as Madagascar and Mauritius. Marsh fiddlers dig burrows in the muddy or sandy banks of salt marshes, which they use to protect themselves from predators, high tide and extreme temperatures. They feed by filtering detritus out of mud, and defend their burrows against other fiddler crabs. Paraleptuca chlorophthalmus is characterised by its red pereiopods and blue and black markings on its carapace.
Austruca annulipes is a species of fiddler crab found along the coastline from South Africa to Somalia, Madagascar, India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Leptuca crenulata, commonly known as the Mexican fiddler crab, is a species of American broad-front fiddler crab in the family Ocypodidae.
Minuca longisignalis, the longwave gulf fiddler, is a species of American broad-front fiddler crab in the family Ocypodidae.
Leptuca thayeri, known generally as the Atlantic mangrove fiddler crab or mangrove fiddler, is a species of true crab in the family Ocypodidae. It is distributed all across the Western Atlantic.
Austruca is a genus of indo-west Pacific fiddler crabs in the family Ocypodidae. There are about 13 described species in this genus.
Leptuca spinicarpa, commonly known as the spiny-wristed fiddler crab or the spined fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to coastal habitats along the Gulf of Mexico from northwestern Florida to Mexico.
Leptuca panacea, commonly known as the Gulf sand fiddler crab or the Panacea sand fiddler, is a species of fiddler crab native to coastal habitats along the Gulf of Mexico from northwestern Florida to Mexico.
Leptuca speciosa, commonly known as the brilliant fiddler crab or the longfinger fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the southern United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Leptuca subcylindrica, commonly known as the Laguna Madre fiddler crab or the puffed fiddler crab, is a sparsely-studied species of fiddler crab native to southern Texas and northeastern Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico.
Leptuca leptodactyla, commonly known as the thin-fingered fiddler crab or the western Atlantic fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the western Atlantic coast of the Americas.
Leptuca cumulanta, commonly known as the heaping fiddler crab or the mangrove fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to tropical and subtropical areas of the western Atlantic.
Leptuca uruguayensis, commonly known as the Uruguayan fiddler crab or the southwestern Atlantic fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to temperate and subtropical areas of the southeastern coast of South America.
Leptuca beebei, commonly known as Beebe's fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the Pacific coasts of Central and South America, from El Salvador to northern Peru.
Leptuca batuenta, commonly known as the beating fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the tropical eastern Pacific, from El Salvador to northern Peru.
Leptuca saltitanta, commonly known as the energetic fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the eastern Pacific coasts, from El Salvador in Central America to Colombia in South America.