| Cymo melanodactylus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Xanthidae |
| Genus: | Cymo |
| Species: | C. melanodactylus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cymo melanodactylus | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Cymo melanodactylus, the furry coral crab, is a species of small decapod crustacean in the family Xanthidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and lives in crevices and on the surface of corals in the genus Acropora .
The carapace and limbs of Cymo melanodactylus have the appearance of being covered with short fur. It has large pale blue, stalked eyes, [2] a spiny carapace with a shallow groove down the middle and grows to about 1.3 cm (0.5 in) wide. [3] It typically has black fingers to its claws but is difficult to distinguish from the rather similar Cymo andreossyi on claw colour alone as some individuals have white finger tips and others have white fingers with black bases. A more reliable feature to distinguish between the two is the orange granulations on the carapace of Cymo melanodactylus. [4]
Cymo melanodactylus is found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Its range extends from the Red Sea and Madagascar to New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. [1]
Cymo melanodactylus is an obligate commensal of Acropora spp. corals. [4] On the large table coral Acropora cytherea , there are usually just one or two of these crabs per head of coral. The crabs feed mostly on mucus secreted by the coral, but also consume zooplankton and suspended particles and nibble the living tissue, [5] though the coral seems little harmed by this. In 2010 in the Chagos Archipelago, infestations of as many as 47 of these crabs were found on individual heads of coral and these corals exhibited dead and dying tissue. The crabs were in close proximity to the damaged tissues but it was unclear whether the crabs were the original cause of the damage or whether they had moved in to exploit the already dying tissues. [6] A more recent study has shown that Cymo melanodactylus is attracted to acroporid corals suffering from white band disease and that the disease advances at a much slower rate when the crabs are present than it does when they are absent. [7]
In the Seychelles, this crab was found living on a different species of coral, Acropora formosa . A single coral head supported a mated pair, a single female and some juveniles. [4]
Stenopus hispidus is a shrimp-like decapod crustacean belonging to the infraorder Stenopodidea. Common names include coral banded shrimp and banded cleaner shrimp.
Acropora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. Acropora species are some of the major reef corals responsible for building the immense calcium carbonate substructure that supports the thin living skin of a reef.
Skeletal eroding band (SEB) is a disease of corals that appears as a black or dark gray band that slowly advances over corals, leaving a spotted region of dead coral in its wake. It is the most common disease of corals in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and is also found in the Red Sea.
The coconut crab is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world, with a weight of up to 4.1 kg (9 lb). It can grow to up to 1 m in width from the tip of one leg to the tip of another. It is found on islands across the Indian Ocean, and parts of the Pacific Ocean as far east as the Gambier Islands and Pitcairn Islands, similar to the distribution of the coconut palm; it has been extirpated from most areas with a significant human population, including mainland Australia and Madagascar. Coconut crabs also live off the coast of Africa near Zanzibar.
Dardanus pedunculatus, the anemone hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab from the Indo-Pacific region. It lives at depths of up to 27 m and collects sea anemones to place on its shell for defence.
Lybia tessellata is a species of small crab in the family Xanthidae. It is found in shallow parts of the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean. Like other members of the genus Lybia, it is commonly known as the pom-pom crab or boxer crab because of its habit of carrying a sea anemone around in each of its claws, these resembling pom-poms or boxing gloves.
Carpilius maculatus common names seven-eleven crab, spotted reef crab, dark-finger coral crab, and large spotted crab, is a species of crab in the family Carpiliidae, which also includes C. convexus and C. corallinus. While there have reports of the C. maculatus as being poisonous, biochemical testing has revealed that they lack any paralytic shellfish toxins.
Trapezia rufopunctata is a species of guard crabs in the family Trapeziidae.
Acropora secale is a species of branching staghorn stony coral. It is found in shallow parts of the Indo-Pacific Ocean and the type locality is Sri Lanka. The oldest fossils found date back to the Pleistocene.
Acropora cytherea is a stony coral which forms horizontal table like structures. It occurs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean in areas with little wave action, favouring back reef environments from 3 to 20 m depth.
Isopora palifera is a species of stony coral in the family Acroporidae. It is a reef building coral living in shallow water and adopts different forms depending on the water conditions where it is situated. It is found in the Western Indo-Pacific Ocean as far east as Australia.
Acropora nasuta is a species of branching stony coral in the family Acroporidae. It is native to the western and central Indo-Pacific where it is found in shallow reef habitats. Like other corals of the genus Acropora, it is susceptible to coral bleaching and coral diseases and the IUCN has listed it as being "Near Threatened".
Acropora lutkeni is a species of acroporid coral found in the central Indo-Pacific, Japan, Australia, the northern Indian Ocean, the East China Sea, southeast Asia, and the central and western Pacific Ocean. The species also occurs in the south Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Palau, the Andaman Islands, Fiji, the Philippines, the Banggai Islands, Samoa, the Raja Ampat Islands, the Line Islands, Papua New Guinea, and the Chagos Archipelago. It exists in tropical shallow reefs on upper slopes that are exposed to the action of strong waves or currents, and subtidally on edges of reefs and in submerged reefs. It exists at depths of between 3 and 12 metres and probably spawns in October.
Seriatopora hystrix is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It forms a branching clump and is commonly known as thin birdsnest coral. It grows in shallow water on fore-reef slopes or in sheltered lagoons, the type locality being the Red Sea. It is native to East Africa, the Red Sea and the western Indo-Pacific region. It is a common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Atergatis roseus, the rosy egg crab, is a species of reef crab from the family Xanthidae with a natural range extending from the Red Sea to Fiji. It has colonised the eastern Mediterranean by Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal. The flesh of this crab, like many other species in the family Xanthidae, is toxic.
Chaetodon zanzibarensis, the Zanzibar butterflyfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish belonging to the family Chaetodontidae. It has a wide distribution throughout the western Indian Ocean stretching from the eastern coast of Africa to Madagascar, the Seychelles, Réunion and Mauritius.
A corallivore is an animal that feeds on coral. Corallivores are an important group of reef organism because they can influence coral abundance, distribution, and community structure. Corallivores feed on coral using a variety of unique adaptations and strategies. Animals known to be corallivores include certain mollusks, annelids, fish, crustaceans, flatworms and echinoderms. The first recorded evidence of corallivory was presented by Charles Darwin in 1842 during his voyage on HMS Beagle in which he found coral in the stomach of two Scarus parrotfish.
Calcinus laevimanus is a species of hermit crab in the genus Calcinus found in the Indo-West Pacific region, the type locality being Hawaii. It is also known as the blue-eyed hermit crab, zebra hermit crab, dwarf zebra hermit crab, left-handed hermit crab, Hawaiian reef hermit and other similar names.
Grapsus albolineatus is a species of decapod crustacean in the family Grapsidae, native to the Indo-Pacific.
Gafrarium pectinatum, also known as Gafrarium tumidum, is a species of the genus Gafrarium in the family of Veneridae, order Veneroida in the bivalve class. They are edible clams. WoRMS believe the latter is the synonyms of the another one, but malocologist from Taiwan distinguish the two from the patterns of their shells