Lybia

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Lybia
Lybia edmondsoni 2.jpg
Hawaiian pompom crab, Lybia edmondsoni
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Xanthidae
Subfamily: Polydectinae
Genus: Lybia
H. Milne-Edwards, 1834  [1]
Type species
Lybia tessellata
Latreille in Milbert, 1812  [2]

Lybia is a genus of small crabs in the family Xanthidae. Their common names include boxer crabs, boxing crabs and pom-pom crabs. They are notable for their mutualism with sea anemones, [3] which they hold in their claws for defense. In return, the anemones get carried around, which may enable them to capture more food particles with their tentacles. Boxer crabs use at least three species of anemones, including Bundeopsis spp. and Triactis producta . The bonding with the anemone is not needed for survival, however, and boxer crabs have frequently been known to live without them, sometimes substituting other organisms such as sponges and corals for the sea anemones.

Contents

The genus Lybia contains the following species: [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Xanthidae is a family of crabs known as gorilla crabs, mud crabs, pebble crabs or rubble crabs. Xanthid crabs are often brightly coloured and are highly poisonous, containing toxins which are not destroyed by cooking and for which no antidote is known. The toxins are similar to the tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin produced by puffer fish, and may be produced by bacteria in the genus Vibrio living in symbiosis with the crabs, mostly V. alginolyticus and V. parahaemolyticus.

<i>Calappa</i> (crab) Genus of crabs

Calappa is a genus of crabs known commonly as box crabs or shame-faced crabs. The name box crab comes from their distinctly bulky carapace, and the name shame-faced is from anthropomorphising the way the crab's chelae (claws) fold up and cover its face, as if it were hiding its face in shame.

<i>Libystes</i> Genus of crabs

Libystes is a genus of crabs, containing six species:

<i>Maja</i> (crab) Genus of crabs

Maja is a genus of majid crabs erected by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1801. It includes the following extant species:

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

The Gecarcinucidae are a family of true freshwater crabs. They are found throughout South Asia, Southeast Asia and New Guinea, with a single genus found in Australia.

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

Hexapodidae is a family of crabs, the only family in the superfamily Hexapodoidea. It has traditionally been treated as a subfamily of the family Goneplacidae, and was originally described as a subfamily of Pinnotheridae. Its members can be distinguished from all other true crabs by the reduction of the thorax, such that only seven sternites are exposed, and only four pairs of pereiopods are present. Not counting the enlarged pair of claws, this leaves only six walking legs, from which the type genus Hexapus, and therefore the whole family, takes its name. Some anomuran "crabs", such as porcelain crabs and king crabs also have only four visible pairs of legs. With the exception of Stevea williamsi, from Mexico, all the extant members are found either in the Indo-Pacific oceans, or around the coast of Africa.

<i>Actumnus</i> Genus of crabs

Actumnus is a genus of crabs in the family Pilumnidae. Alongside the 28 extant species, it has a fossil record extending back into the Miocene.

<i>Achaeopsis</i> Hotlips spider crab, endemic to South Africa

Achaeopsis spinulosa, the hotlips spider crab, is a species of crab in the family Inachidae, found only around the South African coast. It is the only species in the genus Achaeopsis.

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

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

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

Lybia edmondsoni is a species of small crab in the family Xanthidae and is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. 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. Its Hawaiian name is kūmimi pua, meaning "inedible flower crab". In ancient times, this animal was used by men claiming to be sorcerers.

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

Leucosiidae is a family of crabs containing three subfamilies and a number of genera incertae sedis:

<i>Epiactaea</i> Genus of crabs

Epiactaea is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species:

<i>Liomera</i> Genus of crabs

Liomera is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae. It contains the following extant species:

Odhneria is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species:

Pseudactaea is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species:

Actiomera is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species:

<i>Polydectus</i> Genus of crabs

Polydectus cupulifer is a species of crab in the family Xanthidae, and the only species in the genus Polydectus. Together with the genus Lybia, it forms the subfamily Polydectinae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific, ranging from Madagascar and the Red Sea in the west to Japan, Hawaii and French Polynesia in the east. P. cupulifer is densely covered with setae (bristles), and frequently carries a sea anemone in each chela (claw).

<i>Demania</i> Genus of crabs

Demania is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species:

<i>Triactis</i> Genus of sea anemones

Triactis is a genus of sea anemone in the family Aliciidae. It is monotypic, having only one species – Triactis producta. This species is found in shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific where it lives on the seabed, rocks and corals. It derives much of its energy needs from the symbiotic algae it contains. It also forms a mutualistic relationship with small Lybia crabs.

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

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,cheerleader 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.

References

  1. "Lybia H. Milne Edwards, 1834". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved March 1, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Peter K. L. Ng; Danièle Guinot & Peter 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.
  3. Abigail Smigel (July 17, 2002). "Creature Feature: Not Quite Muhammed Ali". Deeper Blue.