Dorippe frascone

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Dorippe frascone
Carrier Crab (Dorippe frascone) with Red Radiant Sea Urchin (Astropyga radiata).jpg
Dorippe frascone carrying a red radiant sea urchin (Astropyga radiata)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Dorippidae
Genus: Dorippe
Species:
D. frascone
Binomial name
Dorippe frascone
(Herbst, 1785) [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Cancer frasconeHerbst, 1785
  • Cancer nodulosusOlivier, 1791

Dorippe frascone, the urchin crab or carrier crab, is a small species of crab in the family Dorippidae that was first described scientifically by J.F.W. Herbst, in 1785. It is found in the Red Sea and parts of the western and eastern Indian Ocean. It often has a symbiotic relationship with a long-spined sea urchin and carries one around on its carapace.

Description

The urchin crab is a brownish-pink colour and grows to a length of about 5 cm (2 in). It has long-stalked eyes, a rounded carapace and long, slender legs. It uses only the first two pairs of legs for locomotion because the third and fourth pairs are used to grip a sea urchin which it carries around on its back. It is similar in morphology to the jellyfish crab ( Ethusa spp.) but is easily distinguished by the different invertebrate transported. It also resembles decorator crabs [2] but those actually stick living creatures such as sponges, hydroids and bryozoans, bits of algae and inert objects to their shells. [3]

Distribution

Dorippe frascone is found in the Red Sea and off the coast of East Africa, including Mozambique and Cargados Carajos, an atoll north east of Mauritius. [1] [4]

Ecology

The urchin crab is so called because of its habit of carrying a sea urchin on its carapace. [5] This is usually the red urchin ( Astropyga radiata ), the black long-spined urchin ( Diadema setosum ) or the banded diadem urchin ( Diadema savignyi ). All these urchins have long, hollow spines and may provide protection to the crab by reducing the risk of predation by fish while not being too heavy to carry. The urchin obtains benefit by being transported to new feeding grounds. Even large and mobile individuals submit passively to being carried in this way. [2] [5]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Echinothrix calamaris</i> Species of sea urchin

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<i>Diadema setosum</i> Species of sea urchin

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<i>Notomithrax ursus</i> Species of crab

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<i>Astropyga radiata</i> Species of sea urchin

Astropyga radiata, the red urchin, fire urchin, false fire urchin or blue-spotted urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the family Diadematidae. It is a large species with long spines and is found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. It was first described in 1778 by the German naturalist Nathaniel Gottfried Leske.

<i>Percnon gibbesi</i> Species of crab

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<i>Acanthonyx dentatus</i> Species of crab

Acanthonyx dentatus, the toothed decorator crab, is a species of crab in the family Inachidae.

<i>Oregonia gracilis</i> Species of crab

Oregonia gracilis, commonly known as the graceful decorator crab, is a species of crab belonging to the family Oregoniidae. Like other decorator crabs it habitually attaches other organisms to its back. The sessile organisms are attached to hooked setae that act as a sort of velcro attachment. This decoration provides visual and chemical camouflage thus reducing predation risk. Pacific halibut are a major predator of O. gracilis. Other predators include octopus and sea otters. The main food source of O. gracilis is floating kelp and algae that they capture utilizing a waiting strategy in order to maintain cryptosis.

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<i>Zebrida adamsii</i> Species of crab

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<i>Lybia tessellata</i> Species of crab

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<i>Libinia dubia</i> Species of crab

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<i>Oregonia bifurca</i> Species of crab

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<i>Diadema paucispinum</i> Species of sea urchin

Diadema paucispinum, the long-spined sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the family Diadematidae. It is found in the western Indo-Pacific Ocean and in Hawaii and other east Pacific islands.

<i>Diadema savignyi</i> Species of sea urchin

Diadema savignyi is a species of long-spined sea urchin belonging to the family Diadematidae. Common names include long-spined sea urchin, black longspine urchin and the banded diadem. It is native to the east coast of Africa, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean. It was first described in 1829 by the French naturalist Jean Victoire Audouin. The specific epithet honours the French zoologist Marie Jules César Savigny who described many new marine species from the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. The type locality is Mauritius.

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<i>Lauridromia dehaani</i> Species of crab

Lauridromia dehaani is a species of crab in the family Dromiidae. It is native to the Red Sea and the western Indo-Pacific. It often carries a piece of sponge on its carapace by way of camouflage, and if unable to find a suitable piece of sponge, carries an empty bivalve shell, a sprig of seaweed or a piece of debris instead.

<i>Ethusa mascarone</i> Species of crab

Ethusa mascarone is a species of crabs in the family Ethusidae.

<i>Charybdis natator</i> Species of crab

Charybdis natator, the ridged swimming crab, wrinkled swimming crab or rock crab, is a widespread Indo-Pacific species of swimming crab from the genus Charybdis. It gets its name from the ridges on the dorsal surface of the carapace. It is a crab species which is of minor importance in fisheries.

<i>Charybdis feriata</i> Species of crab

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Davie, Peter (2012). "Dorippe frascone (Herbst, 1785)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  2. 1 2 Massimo Boyer. "Urchin crab". World Database of Marine Species. SeaDB. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  3. Hultgren, Kristin; Stachowicz, Jay (2011). "Camouflage in decorator crabs: integrating ecological, behavioural and evolutionary approaches" (PDF). In Martin Stevens; Sami Merilaita (eds.). Animal Camouflage. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-19911-7.
  4. Jonathan Bird. "Sea urchin crab". Jonathan Bird Productions. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  5. 1 2 Maran, Vincent (2010-11-11). "Astropyga radiata (Leske, 1778)". DORIS (in French). Retrieved 2013-01-22.