Cryptochiridae

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Cryptochiridae
Lithoscaptus semperi en Trachyphyllia geoffroyi.jpg
Lithoscaptus semperi
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Subsection: Thoracotremata
Superfamily: Cryptochiroidea
Paul'son, 1875
Family: Cryptochiridae
Paul'son, 1875
Genera

21, See text

Cryptochiridae is a family of crabs known commonly as gall crabs or coral gall crabs. They live inside dwellings in corals and cause the formation of galls in the coral structure. [1] [2] The family is currently placed in its own superfamily, Cryptochiroidea.

Gall crabs are sexually dimorphic, with males being much smaller than females. Contrary to females, most males are free-living and "visit" females for mating. [1] [3]

These crabs are most common in shallow waters where they live in association with stony corals, but they have also been recorded from mesophotic zones and deep waters. [4] [5] They likely feed on mucus secreted by their coral hosts, as well as various detritus. Some species are thought to be filter feeders. [1]

Because crab size is related to gall size, it is likely that the crabs form the galls, rather than living randomly in a dwelling within a coral. Related groups of gall crab taxa share a similar gall type, suggesting that the crabs influence the morphology of the galls. [6]

The family contains the following twenty-one genera: [7] [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Johnsson, R., et al. (2006). The association of two gall crabs (Brachyura: Cryptochiridae) with the reef-building coral Siderastrea stellata Verrill, 1868. Hydrobiologia 559(1), 379-84.
  2. ↑ Kropp, R. K. (1990). Revision of the genera of gall crabs (Crustacea: Cryptochiridae) occurring in the Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 44(4) 417-48.
  3. ↑ van der Meij, S.E.T. (2014). Host species, range extensions, and an observation of the mating system of Atlantic shallow-water gall crabs (Decapoda: Cryptochiridae) Bulletin of Marine Science 90,1001-1010.
  4. ↑ van der Meij, S.E.T., et al. (2015). A mesophotic record of the gall crab Opecarcinus hypostegus from a Curaçaoan reef. Bulletin of Marine Science 91, 205-206.
  5. ↑ van Tienderen, K.M. & S.E.T. van der Meij (2016). Occurrence patterns of coral-dwelling gall crabs (Cryptochiridae) over depth intervals in the Caribbean. PeerJ 4, e1794.
  6. ↑ Wei, T. P., et al. (2013). Gall polymorphism of coral-inhabiting crabs (Decapoda, Cryptochiridae): a new perspective. Archived 2020-11-11 at the Wayback Machine Journal of Marine Science and Technology 21, 304-07.
  7. ↑ "Cryptochiridae". WoRMS . Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  8. ↑ P. K. L. Ng; D. Guinot; P. J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology . 17: 1–286. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06.
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