Sulawesi, also known as Celebes, is one of the four Greater Sunda Islands. It is governed by Indonesia. The world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Within Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger populations.
The fauna of Australia consists of a huge variety of animals; some 46% of birds, 69% of mammals, 94% of amphibians, and 93% of reptiles that inhabit the continent are endemic to it. This high level of endemism can be attributed to the continent's long geographic isolation, tectonic stability, and the effects of a unique pattern of climate change on the soil and flora over geological time. A unique feature of Australia's fauna is the relative scarcity of native placental mammals. Consequently, the marsupials – a group of mammals that raise their young in a pouch, including the macropods, possums and dasyuromorphs – occupy many of the ecological niches placental animals occupy elsewhere in the world. Australia is home to two of the five known extant species of monotremes and has numerous venomous species, which include the platypus, spiders, scorpions, octopus, jellyfish, molluscs, stonefish, and stingrays. Uniquely, Australia has more venomous than non-venomous species of snakes.
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in fresh water, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and have a single pair of pincers. They first appeared during the Jurassic Period.
Aestivation is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter. Aestivation is characterized by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate, that is entered in response to high temperatures and arid conditions. It takes place during times of heat and dryness, the hot dry season, which are often the summer months.
The Tasmanian giant crab, Pseudocarcinus gigas is a very large species of crab that resides on rocky and muddy bottoms in the oceans off Southern Australia. It is the only species in the genus Pseudocarcinus.
The fauna of New Guinea comprises a large number of species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and amphibians.
The southern New Guinea giant softshell turtle is a species of softshell turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is endemic to the lowlands of southern New Guinea with occasional vagrant individuals sighted off the coast of northern Australia. P. bibroni is referred to by the Suki people as kiya eise, a reference to its flexible shell. In the Arammba language, it is called sokrere, meaning "earthquake". It is sometimes hunted by local villages for its meat and/or eggs, leading to some cases of chelonitoxism.
Parathelphusinae is a subfamily of freshwater crabs, which was formerly placed in the family Parathelphusidae; they are mainly found in South and Southeast Asia, but also found elsewhere in Asia and in Australia
Potamonautes is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent. They are found in most freshwater habitats of the African mainland and some species are semi-terrestrial.
The Gecarcinucidae are a family of true freshwater crabs. The family Parathelphusidae is now demoted to the rank of subfamily, as the Parathelphusinae, within the Gecarcinucidae. "Family" Parathelphusidae is now considered as a junior synonym.
Pseudothelphusidae is a family of freshwater crabs found chiefly in mountain streams in the Neotropics. They are believed to have originated in the Greater Antilles and then crossed to Central America via a Pliocene land bridge.
Potamon fluviatile is a freshwater crab found in or near wooded streams, rivers and lakes in Southern Europe. It is an omnivore with broad ecological tolerances, and adults typically reach 50 mm (2 in) in size during their 10–12 year lifespan. They inhabit burrows and are aggressive, apparently outcompeting native crayfish.
Ranina ranina, also known as the Huỳnh Đế crab, (red) frog crab or spanner crab, is a species of crab found throughout tropical and subtropical habitats. It is often fished for its meat, and is the only known species in its genus.
Johora singaporensis, the Singapore stream crab or Singapore freshwater crab, is a critically endangered species of freshwater crab endemic to Singapore. It grows to a size of 30 millimetres (1.2 in) wide.
Potamonautes sidneyi is a species of freshwater crab in the family Potamonautidae. The common name is the Natal river crab or Sidney's river crab, although they may also be referred to as "river crabs", "fresh water crabs" or "land crabs".
Amarinus lacustris is a species of freshwater crab from Australia, New Zealand and nearby islands, where it lives in water of various salinities. It grows up to 10 mm (0.4 in) wide, with an H-shaped groove on its back. It is an omnivore and is eaten by crayfish and fish. It was first discovered in Lake Pupuke, near Auckland, and is the only freshwater crab in New Zealand.
Around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs are distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine crabs, which release thousands of planktonic larvae. This limits the dispersal abilities of freshwater crabs, so they tend to be endemic to small areas. As a result, a large proportion are threatened with extinction.
Austrothelphusa transversa(von Martens, 1868), also known as the inland crab, freshwater crab, or tropical freshwater crab is a species of freshwater crab endemic to Australia. A. transversa is the most widely-dispersed species of its genus, as it has adaptations giving it a high tolerance to drought and arid conditions.
Nanhaipotamon is a genus of freshwater crabs, in the subfamily Potamiscinae, found in southern China and Taiwan. As of 2018, 18 species have been described. The genus is named after the South China Sea, for it occurs mostly in coastal areas.
