Leptuca thayeri

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Leptuca thayeri
FMIB 43738 Uca thayeri, Male (22753) a, Dorsal view; b, Inner surface of larger chela.jpeg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Ocypodidae
Subfamily: Gelasiminae
Genus: Leptuca
Species:
L. thayeri
Binomial name
Leptuca thayeri
M. J. Rathbun, 1900

Leptuca thayeri, known generally as the Atlantic mangrove fiddler crab or mangrove fiddler, is a species of true crab in the family Ocypodidae. It is distributed all across the Western Atlantic. [1]

Contents

Leptuca thayeri was formerly a member of the genus Uca , but in 2016 it was placed in the genus Leptuca , a former subgenus of Uca. [2] [3] [4]

Ecology

Living on and within the sediments of mangrove trees, this fiddler crab has an ecological importance. The fiddler crab influences the structure and biology of the sediment through foraging and by constructing burrows for defense. [5] [6]

The fiddler crab, Leptuca thayeri, influence bacterial assemblages in the sediment surrounding the mangrove trees they inhabit by decreasing bacterial diversity through foraging. [6] While foraging, these fiddler crabs divide out the individual sediment grains with their spoon-tipped setae. [7] This division of sediment grain allows for the bioturbation of sediments which allows oxygen penetration at depth and remineralization of organic matter. [8]

Fiddler Gelasimus vomeris, a related member to the Leptuca thayeri. Fiddler Crab (IMG8253).jpg
Fiddler Gelasimus vomeris, a related member to the Leptuca thayeri.

Reproductive behaviors

Perhaps the most widely studied aspect of the mangrove fiddler crab is its unique reproductive behavior. When studied broadly, the U. thayeri resembles a "broad front" fiddler crab, which describes the spacing of the eye stalks. [9] This appearance, usually indicates that the individual crab would have resource-based mating system, while in fact, the mangrove fiddler crab exhibits the opposite, which is a resource-free mating system. [9] This switch in behavior has been best described as an evolutionary convergence of reproductive behaviors between the "broad" and "narrow" front crabs. [9]

Another aspect to the reproductive behavior of U. thayeri is the hatching time of larval crabs in relation to the tide. [10] In this species, it has been determined, regardless of whether the tides are semi-diurnal or mixed, larval crabs will be released after high tide, when the light-dark cycle and tidal amplitude are most favorable for high survivorship of the larvae. [10]

Size matters with this species. In a study by Bezzarra and authors, the relationship between size of the crab carapace and fecundity, amount of offspring produced at a potential mating season. [11] This relationship that was analyzed, was that there was a positive correlation, meaning that the larger the carapace, the more offspring that the female fiddlers would be able to have. [11] This idea also relates with sexual maturity. In the mangrove fiddler crab, to determine sexual maturity in both the male and female crabs, the size of the male cheliped and the female abdomen controls it. [12] [13]

Distribution

Globally, Leptuca thayeri, is distributed in the Western Atlantic around the subtropical mangroves in Ubatuba, State of São Paulo, and Brazil. [14]

Within the mangrove trees themselves, Leptuca thayeri is euryhaline and is able to survive in a salinity from 4 to 32. [1] This mangrove fiddler crab is also reliant on the substrate quality, such as: pebble/sand/silt/clay balance, organic matter availability, and the abundance of seagrass. [1]

Another factor that the mangrove fiddlers are dependent on in their distribution is temperature. [14] During the warmer months of the year, the population is more pronounced and more widely distributed compared to the colder months of fall and winter. [14]

Visual system

In the eyes of mangrove fiddlers, exist a simple system used to detect light and even decipher between different colors. [15] The existence of two visual pigments, one that has a peak absorption at 430 nm and the second between 500 - 540 nm, is the source of their visual prowess. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiddler crab</span> Genus of crabs

The fiddler crab or calling crab may be any of more than one hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae, well known for their sexually dimorphic claws; the males' major claw is much larger than the minor claw, while the females' claws are both the same size. A smaller number of ghost crab and mangrove crab species are also found in the family Ocypodidae. This entire group is composed of small crabs, the largest being slightly over two inches (5 cm) across. Fiddler crabs are found along sea beaches and brackish intertidal mud flats, lagoons, swamps, and various other types of brackish or salt-water wetlands.

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

The Ocypodidae are a family of semiterrestrial crabs that includes the ghost crabs and fiddler crabs. They are found on tropical and temperate shorelines around the world.

<i>Minuca pugnax</i> Species of crab

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.

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

Austruca perplexa is a species of fiddler crab. It is found from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan to India, throughout the Malay Archipelago, along eastern Australian coasts from Queensland to New South Wales, and in various Pacific islands, including Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu.

<i>Gelasimus vocans</i> Species of crab

Gelasimus vocans is a species of fiddler crab. It is found across the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea, Zanzibar and Madagascar to Indonesia and the central Pacific Ocean. It lives in burrows up to 50 centimetres (20 in) deep. Several forms of G. vocans have been recognised, with their authors often granting them the taxonomic rank of full species or subspecies.

<i>Leptuca crenulata</i> Species of crab

Leptuca crenulata, commonly known as the Mexican fiddler crab, is a species of American broad-front fiddler crab in the family Ocypodidae.

<i>Leptuca</i> Genus of crabs

Leptuca is a genus of fiddler crabs belonging to the family Ocypodidae.

<i>Leptuca spinicarpa</i> Species of crab

Leptuca spinicarpa, commonly known as the spiny-wristed fiddler crab or the spined fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to coastal habitats along the Gulf of Mexico from northwestern Florida to Mexico.

Gelasiminae is a subfamily that pertains to nine out of the eleven fiddler crab genera within the family Ocypodidae.

<i>Leptuca panacea</i> Species of crab

Leptuca panacea, commonly known as the Gulf sand fiddler crab or the Panacea sand fiddler, is a species of fiddler crab native to coastal habitats along the Gulf of Mexico from northwestern Florida to Mexico.

Leptuca speciosa, commonly known as the brilliant fiddler crab or the longfinger fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the southern United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Leptuca subcylindrica, commonly known as the Laguna Madre fiddler crab or the puffed fiddler crab, is a sparsely-studied species of fiddler crab native to southern Texas and northeastern Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico.

Leptuca leptodactyla, commonly known as the thin-fingered fiddler crab or the western Atlantic fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the western Atlantic coast of the Americas.

Leptuca cumulanta, commonly known as the heaping fiddler crab or the mangrove fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to tropical and subtropical areas of the western Atlantic.

<i>Leptuca uruguayensis</i> Species of crab

Leptuca uruguayensis, commonly known as the Uruguayan fiddler crab or the southwestern Atlantic fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to temperate and subtropical areas of the southeastern coast of South America.

Leptuca beebei, commonly known as Beebe's fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the Pacific coasts of Central and South America, from El Salvador to northern Peru.

Leptuca batuenta, commonly known as the beating fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the tropical eastern Pacific, from El Salvador to northern Peru.

Leptuca saltitanta, commonly known as the energetic fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the eastern Pacific coasts, from El Salvador in Central America to Colombia in South America.

Leptuca helleri, commonly known as Heller's fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab endemic to the Galapagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Leptuca deichmanni, commonly known as Deichmann's fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the eastern Pacific coast of Central America, in Costa Rica and Panama.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Masunari, S (2006). "Distribution and abundance of fiddler crabs Uca Leach (Crustacea, Decapoda, Ocypodidae) in Guaratuba Bay, Parana State, southern Brazil". Revista Brasileira de Zoologia. 23: 901–914. doi: 10.1590/S0101-81752006000400001 .
  2. ↑ Shih, Hsi-Te; Ng, Peter K. L.; Davie, Peter J. F.; Schubart, Christoph D.; et al. (2016). "Systematics of the family Ocypodidae Rafinesque, 1815 (Crustacea: Brachyura), based on phylogenetic relationships, with a reorganization of subfamily rankings and a review of the taxonomic status of Uca Leach, 1814, sensu lato and its subgenera". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 64.
  3. ↑ Rosenberg, Michael S. (2019). "A fresh look at the biodiversity lexicon for fiddler crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae). Part 1: Taxonomy". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 39 (6).
  4. ↑ "WoRMS taxon details, Leptuca thayeri (Rathbun, 1900)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  5. ↑ Gusmao, J.B.L.; Machado, G.B.O.; Costa, T.M. (2012). "Burrows with Chimneys of the Fiddler Crab Uca thayeri: Construction, Occurrence, and Function" (PDF). Zoological Studies. 51: 598–605.
  6. 1 2 Cuellar-Gempeler, C; Munguia, P (June 2013). "Fiddler crabs (Uca thayeri, Brachyura: Ocypodidae) affect bacterial assemblages in mangrove forest sediments". Community Ecology. 14: 59–66. doi:10.1556/ComEc.14.2013.1.7.
  7. ↑ Colpo, K.D.; Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. (2011). "Sediment particle selection during feeding by four species of Uca (Brachyura, Ocypodidae)". Crustaceana. 84 (5): 721–734. doi:10.1163/001121611X577891.
  8. ↑ Aller, R.C. (1994). "Bioturbation and remineralization of sedimentary organic matter: Effects of redox oscillation". Chemical Geology. 114 (3–4): 331–345. Bibcode:1994ChGeo.114..331A. doi:10.1016/0009-2541(94)90062-0.
  9. 1 2 3 Salmon, M (1987). "On the Reproductive Behavior of the Fiddler Crab Uca Thayeri, with Comparisons to U. Pugilator and U. Vocans: Evidence for Behavioral Convergence". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 7 (1): 25–44. doi:10.2307/1548623. JSTOR   1548623 – via Oxford Academic.
  10. 1 2 Kellmeyer, K; Salmon, M (2001). "Hatching rhythms of Uca thayeri Rathbun: timing in semidiurnal and mixed tidal regimes". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 260 (2): 169–183. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(01)00259-3. PMID   11358577.
  11. 1 2 Bezerra, Arruda; Ernesto, Luis; Matthews-Cascon, Helena (2007). "Population and reproductive biology of the fiddler crab Uca thayeri Rathbun, 1900 (Crustacea: Ocypodidae) in a tropical mangrove from Northeast Brazil". Acta Oecologica. 31 (3): 251–258. Bibcode:2007AcO....31..251A. doi:10.1016/j.actao.2006.10.003.
  12. ↑ Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L.; Colpo, K.D.; Costa, T.M. (2003). "Allometric Growth in the Fiddler Crab Uca Thayeri (Brachyura, Ocypodidae) from a Subtropical Mangrove". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 23 (2): 273–279. doi: 10.1163/20021975-99990337 – via Oxford Academic.
  13. ↑ Christy, J.H.; Salmon, M. (1984). "Ecology and Evolution of Mating Systems of Fiddler Crabs (Genus Uca)". Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 59 (4): 483–509. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.1984.tb00412.x. S2CID   85572747.
  14. 1 2 3 Costa, T.M.; Negreiros-Fransozo, M.L. (2002). "Population biology of Uca thayeri Rathbun, 1900 (Brachyura, Ocypodidae) in a subtropical South American mangrove area: Results from transect and catch-per-unit-effort techniques". Crustaceana. 75 (10): 1201–1218. doi:10.1163/156854002321518144.
  15. 1 2 Horch, K; Salmon, M; Forward, R (2002). "Evidence for a two pigment visual system in the fiddler crab, Uca thayeri". Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 188 (6): 493–499. doi:10.1007/s00359-002-0325-7. PMID   12122468. S2CID   11192340.
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