| Mouthless crab | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Gecarcinidae |
| Genus: | Cardisoma |
| Species: | C. crassum |
| Binomial name | |
| Cardisoma crassum | |
Cardisoma crassum, known as the mouthless crab, is a species of terrestrial crab found in the coastal tropical eastern Pacific from Baja California to Peru.
Cardisoma crassum is in the family Gecarcinidae, also known as the land crabs. Sidney Irving Smith described the species in 1870. [2]
Mouthless crabs live in the eastern Pacific region, just one of three species of land crabs found there. They are distributed from Baja California and the neighbouring Gulf of California southwards to Peru and sometimes into Chile. [3] [4] Cardisoma crassum is common among mangrove roots, where it builds its burrow. Burrows dug by Cardisoma crassum are complex, often over 2 meters deep and located in high areas of mangroves with a water reservoir at the bottom of the burrow. [5] A new species of sand fly in the genus Culicoides was found to be living and breeding in mouthless crabs' burrows, and was subbed C. cancer due to the crab connection. [6]
Cardisoma crassum is a fairly small species with a carapace broader than it is long. Smith's original description measured three males and one female; the average male had a carapace measuring 53.7 mm × 65.4 mm (2.11 in × 2.57 in), measured in length × width. The female measured 53 mm × 64.5 mm (2.09 in × 2.54 in). [2]
Mouthless crabs are colourful, with a dark blue carapace, red walking leg dactyli, and a large cheliped with a pale yellowy to dirty white top and cream-coloured underside. [7]
The fiddler crab or calling crab can be one of the hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae. These crabs are well known for their extreme sexual dimorphism, where the male crabs have a major claw significantly larger than their minor claw, whilst females claws are both the same size. The name fiddler crab comes from the appearance of their small and large claw together, looking similar to a fiddle.
Gecarcinus quadratus, known as the red land crab, whitespot crab, Halloween crab, moon crab, Halloween moon crab, mouthless crab, or harlequin land crab, is a colourful land crab from the family Gecarcinidae.
Tuerkayana hirtipes is a species of terrestrial crab.
Discoplax is a genus of terrestrial crabs. It is very closely related to the genera Cardisoma and Tuerkayana.
Cardisoma carnifex is a species of terrestrial crab found in coastal regions from the east coast of Africa and the Red Sea across the Indo-Pacific to the Line Islands and the Tuamotu Archipelago. The range includes parts of northern Australia and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Cardisoma guanhumi, also known as the blue land crab or great land crab, is a species of land crab found in tropical and subtropical estuaries and other maritime areas of land along the Atlantic coast of the Americas from Brazil and Colombia, through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, to the Bahamas, and north to Ponce Inlet, Florida Princess Place Preserve in Palm Coast, and Bermuda. The species varies in colour from dark blue to brown or pale grey, and may grow to 15 centimetres (6 in) in carapace width and weigh over 500 grams (18 oz).
Cardisoma armatum is a species of terrestrial crab.
Cardisoma is a genus of large land crabs. Three species formerly placed in this genus are now placed in Discoplax. The four species that remain in Cardisoma are found in warm coastal regions where they live in burrows. Young individuals are often very colourful with a purple-blue carapace and orange-red legs, but as they grow older the colours tend to fade, and females may be duller than males. Although less extreme than in fiddler crabs, one claw is usually considerably larger than the other. They are omnivores, but primarily feed on plant material.
Mouthless crab may refer to either of two species of terrestrial crab:
Gecarcinus lateralis, also known by the common names blackback land crab, Bermuda land crab, red land crab and moon crab, is a colourful crab from the family Gecarcinidae.
Gecarcinus is the type genus of the land crab family Gecarcinidae. They are found in warmer coastal regions of the Americas, including islands in the Caribbean. Four species from oceanic islands were formerly included in Gecarcinus as the subgenus Johngarthia, but are now treated as a separate genus, Johngarthia. While all members of this genus are largely terrestrial, they have to return to the ocean to breed. They are often colourful, with reddish, orange, purple, yellowish, whitish, or blackish being the dominating hues. This has resulted in some species, notably G. quadratus and G. lateralis, gaining a level of popularity in the pet trade.
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.
Gecarcinus ruricola is a species of terrestrial crab. It is the most terrestrial of the Caribbean land crabs, and is found from western Cuba across the Antilles as far east as Barbados. Common names for G. ruricola include the purple land crab, black land crab, red land crab, and zombie crab.
Johngarthia lagostoma is a species of terrestrial crab that lives on Ascension Island and three other islands in the South Atlantic. It grows to a carapace width of 110 mm (4.3 in) on Ascension Island, where it is the largest native land animal. It exists in two distinct colour morphs, one yellow and one purple, with few intermediates. The yellow morph dominates on Ascension Island, while the purple morph is more frequent on Rocas Atoll. The species differs from other Johngarthia species by the form of the third maxilliped.
The gulf ghost crab, Hoplocypode occidentalis, is a species of ghost crabs native to the Pacific coast of the Americas, from the Gulf of California to Colombia. It is the only species in the genus Hoplocypode. Gulf ghost crabs are medium-sized, reaching a maximum overall body diameter of 6 in (15 cm). They are one of only two ghost crab species found in the eastern Pacific. However, gulf ghost crabs can easily be distinguished from painted ghost crabs by the absence of "horns" on their eyes.
Leptuca is a genus of fiddler crabs belonging to the family Ocypodidae.
Pseudohelice subquadrata is a species of crab in the family Varunidae. It is found from the eastern Indian Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean, north to Japan, south to Eastern Australia, east to French Polynesia, west to Indonesia and Thailand. It lives near mangroves, burrowing in firm soils, firm muddy sand or loose stones. Burrows are towards or above the high tide line on shores of estuaries and near river mouths of bays, and can have offshoots horizontal beneath the surface as long as three metres.
Helopgrapsus haswellianus or Haswell’s shore crab, is the sole species of crab in the genus Helograpsus. It lives in river mouths and bays on the eastern coast of Australia. The carapace is strongly convex with one distinct notch behind the eye. Adult males have larger claws than adult females. The carapace is olive, dark slate grey or reddish. Claws of adult males are orange-yellow. Carapace size is up to 30 mm wide. The orange color is stronger when these crabs live in habitat with lower pollution levels.
Macrophthalmus crassipes is a species of sentinel crab in the family Macrophthalmidae, found around China, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, and the Caroline Islands. In Australia it is found from north Western Australia through to New South Wales. Common names include the seagrass sentinel crab and the orange spined sentinel crab. On adult males there is a substantial tooth on the lower claw and a much smaller tooth on the upper claw, and noticeable orange spines on the “wrist” (carpus) of the clawed leg and on the palm of the clawed leg. The carapace is covered in small granules, and is up to around 37 mm (1.5 in) across. It is a burrowing crab, and lives in open tidal flats, muddy or with sandy mud, low on tidal creek banks, and adjacent mangroves.
Leptograpsodes octodentatus, known as the burrowing shore crab, is a species of crab in the superfamily Grapsoidea, It is the only species in the genus Leptograpsodes, and the family Leptograpsodidae.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Extant Gecarcinidae species | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cardisoma |   | |
| Discoplax | ||
| Epigrapsus | ||
| Gecarcinus | ||
| Gecarcoidea | ||
| Johngarthia | ||
| Tuerkayana | ||
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