| Notopus dorsipes | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Raninidae |
| Genus: | Notopus |
| Species: | N. dorsipes |
| Binomial name | |
| Notopus dorsipes | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Notopus dorsipes is a species of frog crab from the family Raninidae which has an Indo-Pacific distribution and which has recently spread into the eastern Mediterranean. It is the only extant species in the genus Notopus .
Notopus dorsipes has a carapace which is broadened anteriorly and regularly convex from side to side with no median dorsal carina. There is a transverse ridge of small spines between the larger antero-lateral spines on an otherwise smooth surface. The front border of the orbit is less than half the width of carapace at its widest point and has five fronto-orbital spines. The antero-lateral borders have a single spine. The thin eye stalk folds backwards and downwards obliquely. The dorsal border of the cheliped palm lacks spines. The fifth pereiopod, is slightly smaller compared to the preceding pereiopods. The pereiopods are fringed with long, thin bristles with a broad dactylus and a flattened merus and carpus. The carapace length is up to 25mm. [2] [3] The carapace is coloured bright reddish-brown with white mottling and there is a pair of obvious spots on either side of the carapace near the middle. [4]
Notopus dorsipes is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans from the Red Sea and eastern Africa to Japan to the Great Barrier Reef, although there are few records from the Sunda Shelf region in south-east Asia. [4] It was recorded in the Mediterranean for the first time in 1964 off Israel and off the Egyptian coast in 2000 and 2016. The species is now most likely established in the Mediterranean and the probable route of colonisation was from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal, i.e. Lessepsian migration. [5]
Notopus dorsipes is a burrowing animal of shallow seas with sandy substrates. To burrow it lifts the anterior end of its body using the chelipeds digging backwards at an angle. The chelipeds are used to push the animal backwards while burrowing. The burrowing is quick, the flattened and spade-like dactylus of the periopods is used to burrow, and the crab can bury itself completely in the sand in a matter of seconds. [4] [3]
Cancer pagurus, commonly known as the edible crab or brown crab, is a species of crab found in the North Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and perhaps the Mediterranean Sea. It is a robust crab of a reddish-brown colour, having an oval carapace with a characteristic "pie crust" edge and black tips to the claws. A mature adult may have a carapace width up to 25 cm (10 in) and weigh up to 3 kg (6.6 lb). C. pagurus is a nocturnal predator, targeting a range of molluscs and crustaceans. It is the subject of the largest crab fishery in Western Europe, centred on the coasts of the British Isles, with more than 60,000 tonnes caught annually.
Cherax parvus is a species of crayfish in the family Parastacidae. It is only known from its type locality – the Upper Tully River catchment in the Cardwell Range of north-eastern Queensland – and is listed as data deficient on the IUCN Red List. It was discovered in a rainforest catchment in a highland of northeastern Queensland during a Queensland Museum expedition to the upper Tully River area in November 1992. It is one of the smallest species in the genus. No species of Cherax has been considered endemic to wet upland or highland areas before it was discovered; most previous records were from elevations less than 400 meters. It also has several morphological features unique to the genus, and does not appear closely related to any extant species, suggesting a long period of geographic isolation.
Goneplax rhomboides is a species of crab. It is known by the common name angular crab because of its angular carapace. Although it is also called the square crab, its shell is in fact more trapezoidal than square. This species is also known as the mud-runner because they are able to run away quickly when threatened.
Dromia personata, also known as the sponge crab or sleepy crab, is a species of crab found in the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and connecting parts of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Like most other epibenthic crustaceans, the biomass of this species is especially dense in the Mediterranean continental shelf. It mainly resides from the lower shore to a depth of 50 meters (164 ft), often in caves. Occasionally, they are found living in depths as low as 110 meters (360 ft). They serve as prey for octopus, starfish, and other fish. Their last two pairs of legs are positioned dorsally, and are used to hold a sponge in place as camouflage.
Pisidia longicornis, the long-clawed porcelain crab, is a species of porcelain crab that lives in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean. It varies from reddish to white, and grows to a carapace width of 1 cm (0.4 in). It was first named by Carl Linnaeus in 1767, although the etymology remains unclear.
Xantho hydrophilus, the furrowed crab or Montagu's crab, is a species of crab from the family Xanthidae. It is yellowish-brown and grows to a carapace width of 70 mm (2.8 in). It is a nocturnal Omnivore that lives in shallow marine waters from western Scotland to the Cape Verde Islands.
Petrolisthes eriomerus is a species of marine porcelain crab found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the flattop crab. It is a flattened, rounded animal, with a carapace up to 20 mm (0.8 in) across. It is a filter feeder, and also sweeps food from rocks.
Oregonia bifurca, commonly known as the split-nose crab or the split-nose decorator crab, is a species of crabs belonging to the genus Oregonia. It is a rare deep-water species that inhabits the tops of seamounts and guyots in the northeastern Pacific Ocean; from the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Sea, the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, to the waters off British Columbia. It is closely related to the more common shallow-water species Oregonia gracilis, the graceful decorator crab.
Chaceon crosnieri is a species of crab. Chaceon crosnieri differs from C. affinis in that the carapace is more inflated, the outer orbital and the suborbital teeth are stronger, the subdistal tooth on the merus of the cheliped is stronger and the cheliped is smoother dorsally; the carpus of the walking legs lacks dorsal spinules, and the merus of the walking legs has a strong distal dorsal spine. It differs from C. chuni in being much larger up to 155 millimetres (6.1 in), the carapace is more inflated, the gap between the first and second anterolateral tooth of the carapace is larger; the frontal teeth of the carapace are stronger, the suborbital spine is smaller, and the carpus of the cheliped lacks an outer spine. Chaceon crosnieri is a smoother species than C. bicolor, with shorter and stouter legs, the suborbital spine is lower and blunter, and the distal projection on the merus of the walking legs is much less developed in larger specimens. This species is named after Alain Crosnier.
Chaceon bicolor is a species of crab. Chaceon bicolor differs from all species of the genus in color pattern, with the anterior part of the body purplish rather than reddish. In addition to color pattern, C. bicolor also differs from C. granulatus in having compressed rather than depressed dactyli on the walking legs; also, the hepatic region of the carapace in C. granulatus is coarsely granular, whereas it is smooth in C. bicolor. Juvenile specimens differ from adults in many features: the teeth of the carapace are much larger and sharper, there is a sharp spine on the carpus of the cheliped and a distal spine on the merus of each walking leg, plus the legs are longer and slenderer. Adult females differ from males in having much sharper anterolateral teeth on the carapace, sharper suborbital spines, and much shorter legs, with less trace of a distal dorsal projection on the merus. The carapace of females is more strongly arched from front to back and the protogastric regions are noticeably more inflated. The species is named as such because of its colour patter, purple an tan.
Lauridromia is a genus of crabs in the family Dromiidae. It contains only two species. At one time a third species, Lauridromia indica, was included in the genus but that has now been transferred to the genus Dromidiopsis as Dromidiopsis indica.
Lauridromia intermedia is a species of crab in the family Dromiidae and is native to the western Indo-Pacific. It often carries a piece of sponge on its back by way of camouflage, and one individual was found carrying a sea anemone in a similar manner.
Alpheus tricolor is a crustacean belonging to the family of snapping shrimp. It was first isolated in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. It counts with a setose carapace, an acute rostrum, shallow adrostral furrows and a basicerite with a strong ventrolateral tooth. The lamella of its scaphocerite is not reduced, with an anterior margin that is concave. Its third maxilliped counts with an epipodial plate bearing thick setae, while its first chelipeds are found with their merus bearing a strong disto-mesial tooth; its third pereiopod has an armed ischium, with a simple and conical dactylus. Its telson is broad, distally tapering, with 2 pairs of dorsal spines. The species is named after its characteristic colour pattern, including white, red and orange.
Alpheus fasqueli is a crustacean belonging to the family of snapping shrimp. It was first isolated in Sri Lanka. It counts with a setose carapace, an acute and carinate rostrum, and unarmed orbital hoods. Its basicerite has a strong ventrolateral tooth. The lamella of its scaphocerite is not reduced. Its third maxilliped counts with an epipodial plate bearing thick setae, while its first chelipeds are found with their merus bearing a strong disto-mesial tooth; its third pereiopod has an armed ischium, with a simple and conical dactylus. Its telson is broad, distally tapering, with 2 pairs of dorsal spines. The species is named after Frédéric Fasquel, a photographer who contributed rare shrimp specimens for the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle.
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.
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.
Charybdis hellerii, the Indo-Pacific swimming crab or spiny hands is a species of crab from the swimming crab family, the Portunidae. Its native range covers the Indian and Pacific Oceans but it has been introduced to the western Atlantic and has invaded the Mediterranean. It is a commercially exploited species in south-east Asia.
Ashtoret lunaris, the yellow moon crab, spotted moon crab or box crab, is an Indo-Pacific species of carnivorous crab which is a member of the family Matutidae. It has been recorded in the eastern Mediterranean since 2010, probably reaching that sea through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea by Lessepsian migration.
Ixa monodi, the Red Sea pebble crab is a species of pebble crab from the family Leucosiidae which prefers to burrow in sandy, shallow coastal waters. It was first described from the eastern Mediterranean where it is an invasive species having colonised the coasts of the Levantine Sea from the Red Sea by Lessepsian migration from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal.
Paguristes eremita, the eye spot hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea.