Leptograpsodes

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Burrowing shore crab
Burrowing-shore-crab-leptograpsodes-octodentatus-389750-large.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Leptograpsodidae
Guinot, Ng & Rodríguez Moreno, 2018 [1]
Genus: Leptograpsodes
Montgomery, 1931 [2]
Species:
L. octodentatus
Binomial name
Leptograpsodes octodentatus
Synonyms [3]
List
    • Cyclograpsus octodentatusH. Milne Edwards, 1837
    • Grapsus inornatusHess, 1865
    • Heterograpsus octodentatus(H. Milne Edwards, 1837)
    • Leptograpsodes webhaysiMontgomery, 1931

Leptograpsodes octodentatus, known as the burrowing shore crab, [4] is a species of crab in the superfamily Grapsoidea, [5] It is the only species in the genus Leptograpsodes, [2] and the family Leptograpsodidae. [1]

Contents

Description

It is up to 60 to 70 mm (2.4 to 2.8 in) across, [5] [6] with an oval shaped carapace. [5] The species epithet octodentatus refers to four pairs of teeth (including the orbital angle) on the sides of the carapace, [4] although the fourth is very small. [7] Some references list one tooth only. [5] Color varies with the carapace described as grey and yellow, mottled green and brown, purple and yellow. [6] It can produce sound by stridulation. [6]

Sexual dimorphism

Adult males have large claws with curved fingers, with irregular teeth, whereas in females and juveniles the fingers are straight, with regular teeth. [4] These differences caused them to originally be given multiple species names.[ citation needed ]

Environment

It is typically found on southern Australian seashores in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia (north to the Abrolhos islands), [4] [6] and tends to live near fresh or brackish water, [4] but never far from the shore. [4] It lives in shallow burrows, above the high tide line, and comes out to feed at night, on rotting vegetation and animal debris. [4] Spawning is in summer from December to January. [4]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Hemigrapsus crenulatus</i> Species of crab

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<i>Leptograpsus</i> Genus of crabs

Leptograpsus variegatus, known as the purple rock crab, is a marine large-eyed crab of the family Grapsidae, found in southern subtropical Indo-Pacific Oceans. It grows to around 50 millimetres (2.0 in) shell width. It is the only species in the genus Leptograpsus.

<i>Discoplax</i> Genus of crabs

Discoplax is a genus of terrestrial crabs. It is very closely related to the genera Cardisoma and Tuerkayana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gecarcinidae</span> Family of crabs

The Gecarcinidae, the land crabs, are a family of true crabs that are adapted for terrestrial existence. Similar to all other crabs, land crabs possess a series of gills. In addition, the part of the carapace covering the gills is inflated and equipped with blood vessels. These organs extract oxygen from the air, analogous to the vertebrate lungs. Adult land crabs are terrestrial, but visit the sea periodically, where they breed and their larvae develop. Land crabs are tropical omnivores which sometimes cause considerable damage to crops. Most land crabs have one of their claws larger than the other.

<i>Cardisoma</i> Genus of crustaceans

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.

<i>Pachygrapsus marmoratus</i> Species of crab

Pachygrapsus marmoratus is a species of crab, sometimes called the marbled rock crab or marbled crab, which lives in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It is dark violet brown, with yellow marbling, and with a body up to 36 millimetres (1.4 in) long. A semiterrestrial omnivore, it feeds on algae and various animals including mussels and limpets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plagusiidae</span> Family of crabs

The Plagusiidae are a family of crabs, formerly treated as a subfamily of the family Grapsidae, but have since been considered sufficiently distinct to be a family in their own right. The family Plagusiidae includes the subfamily Plagusiinae, comprising the genera Percnon and Plagusia, which constitute a widespread group of litophilic, intertidal and subtidal crabs that are notorious for their speed and their agility.

<i>Hemigrapsus</i> Genus of crabs

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panopeidae</span> Family of crabs

The Panopeidae are a family containing 26 genera of morphologically similar crabs, often known as "mud crabs". Their centers of diversity are the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Paraleptuca chlorophthalmus</i> Species of crab

Paraleptuca chlorophthalmus, is a common fiddler crab found in the mangroves of East Africa, from Somalia to South Africa, as well as Madagascar and Mauritius. Marsh fiddlers dig burrows in the muddy or sandy banks of salt marshes, which they use to protect themselves from predators, high tide and extreme temperatures. They feed by filtering detritus out of mud, and defend their burrows against other fiddler crabs. Paraleptuca chlorophthalmus is characterised by its red pereiopods and blue and black markings on its carapace.

<i>Pilumnoides</i> Genus of crabs

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<i>Austruca annulipes</i> Species of crab

Austruca annulipes is a species of fiddler crab found along the coastline from South Africa to Somalia, Madagascar, India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

<i>Dotilla myctiroides</i> Species of crab

Dotilla myctiroides is a species of sand bubbler crab found on tropical shores and mud-flats of India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. They breed throughout the year but activity peaks during the monsoons. This species builds a burrow, called an "igloo", in unstable sand as well as in well-drained and firm sand. In building the igloo, the crab excavates sand and forms it into spherical pellets. These pellets are used to form a circular wall and roof in the burrow. The resulting structure holds a small amount of air in addition to the crab itself.

<i>Tubuca urvillei</i> Species of crab

Tubuca urvillei is a species of fiddler crab. It is found in Southeastern Africa from southern Somalia to South Africa and Madagascar.

<i>Tuerkayana</i> Genus of crustaceans

Tuerkayana is a genus of large land crabs. It was created from two members of the genus Cardisoma and two members of Discoplax in late 2018 after a re-examination of the taxonomy of the family Gecarcinidae. Said re-examination also resulted in the creation of the new family Leptograpsodidae for the genus Leptograpsodes.

<i>Australoplax tridentata</i> Species of crab

Australoplax tridentata, commonly known as the furry-clawed crab or tuxedo shore crab is a species of crab in the family Macrophthalmidae that is found in Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory.

<i>Macrophthalmus setosus</i> Species of sentinel crab

Macrophthalmus setosus is a species of sentinel crab found on the east coast of Australia, from around Queensland to Sydney. Macrophthalmus setosus is found low down on muddy river and creek banks and in exposed sea grass areas in tidal zones, at times near mangroves. Males have a tooth on the upper claw (dactyl). The carapace is around 40 mm wide, and rectangular, greater than 1.7 times wide than long. Eye stalks are long and thin.

<i>Tasmanoplax</i> Species of crustacean

Tasmanoplax latifrons, commonly known as the southern sentinel crab, is a species of crab found on the south-east coast of Australia, from Tasmania to southern NSW, as far north as the Hunter river. It inhabits tidal mudflats with seagrass, and forms burrows. It is the only species in the genus Tasmanoplax.

<i>Daldorfia</i> Genus of decapods

Daldorfia is a genus of parthenopid crab, belonging to the subfamily Daldorfiinae.

References

  1. 1 2 WoRMS. "Leptograpsodidae Guinot, Ng & Rodriguez Moreno, 2018". World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2024-11-26.
  2. 1 2 WoRMS. "Leptograpsodes Montgomery, 1931". World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2024-11-26.
  3. 1 2 WoRMS. "Leptograpsodes octodentatus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837)". World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2024-11-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 George, R. W. (1962-09-15). "The Burrowing Shore Crab of Southern Australiia". Australian Natural History. XIV (3): 71–74.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, J.; Poore, G. (2010). "Leptograpsodes octodentatus Burrowing Shore Crab in Museums Victoria Collections". Museums Victoria. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Guinot, D; Ng, N. K. G.; Rodriguez Moreno, P. A. (2018-12-21). "Review of grapsoid families for the establishment of a new family for Leptograpsodes Montgomery, 1931, and a new genus of Gecarcinidae H. Milne Edwards, 1837 (Crustacea, Decapoda,Brachyura,Grapsoidea Macleay, 1838)". Zoosystema. 40 (26): 545–604. doi:10.5252/zoosystema2018v40a26.
  7. Griffin, D. J. G. (1969-04-18). "Notes on the taxonomy and zoogeography of the Tasmanian grapsid and ocypodid crabs (Crustacea, Brachyura)". Records of the Australian Museum. 27 (18): 323–347]. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.27.1969.452.