| Ocypode cursor | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Ocypodidae |
| Subfamily: | Ocypodinae |
| Species: | O. cursor |
| Binomial name | |
| Ocypodinae cursor | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Ocypode cursor, the tufted ghost crab, [2] is a species of ghost crab found on sandy beaches along the coasts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Ocypode cursor can reach a carapace width of 55 millimetres (2.2 in). [3] O. cursor can be distinguished from O. ceratophthalma and other species of Ocypode by the presence of a tuft of setae (bristles) extending from the tips of the eyestalks. [4]
Ocypode cursor has a disjunct distribution, comprising the eastern Mediterranean Sea and tropical parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, but not the western Mediterranean Sea which connects them. It is thought that O. cursor entered the Mediterranean Sea during a warm period, but was restricted to the warmer eastern part during a subsequent cooler period, isolating the two populations. Similar patterns are seen in the sea snail Charonia variegata and the sea anemone Telmatactis cricoides . [5] Its range is apparently expanding in the Mediterranean, [6] and it is likely that the two populations may rejoin in the future. [5] In the Atlantic Ocean, O. cursor reaches as far south as northern Namibia, but does not reach South Africa. [4]
In West Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean, Ocypode cursor prefers to live in sandy beaches, where it burrows near the high-tide mark, and sometimes above the intertidal zone altogether. The water content of the sand was the key factor determining burrow distribution. [7] It is less tolerant of extremes of salinity and temperature than the fiddler crab Uca tangeri , but can still extend some distance into brackish waters. [8] O. cursor is a predator, [8] and frequently feeds on the eggs of sea turtles. [9] In the Mediterranean Sea, where the tidal range is negligible, the burrows of O. cursor begin within 3 metres (10 ft) of the sea, with larger crabs further from the water's edge. [6]
Ocypode cursor was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae , under the name "Cancer cursor". [1]
Ghost crabs are semiterrestrial crabs of the subfamily Ocypodinae. They are common shore crabs in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world, inhabiting deep burrows in the intertidal zone. They are generalist scavengers and predators of small animals. The name "ghost crab" derives from their nocturnality and their generally pale coloration. They are also sometimes called sand crabs, though the name refers to various other crabs that do not belong to the subfamily.
A fiddler crab, sometimes known as a calling crab, may be any of more than one hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae. 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 and swamps. Fiddler crabs are most 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.
Ocypode is a genus of ghost crabs found in the sandy shores of tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. They have a box-like body, thick and elongated eyestalks, and one claw is larger than the other in both males and females. They inhabit deep burrows in the intertidal zone. They are primarily nocturnal, and are generalist scavengers and predators of small animals. The genus contains 21 species.
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.
Sepietta oweniana is a common marine mollusc from the order Sepiida, the cuttlefish.
Nembrotha cristata is a species of colourful sea slug, a polycerid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae. This species of sea slug is black with green markings; adults are around 50 mm in length, and they live on rock or coral reefs in the tropical Indo-West Pacific Ocean.
Melarhaphe neritoides, common name : the small periwinkle, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles.
Stramonita haemastoma, common name the red-mouthed rock shell or the Florida dog winkle, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the rock snails.
The Atlantic ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata, is a species of ghost crab. It is a common species along the Atlantic coast of the United States, where it is the only species of ghost crab; its range of distribution extends from its northernmost reach on beaches in Westport, Massachusetts, south along the coasts of the tropical Western Atlantic Ocean to the beach of Barra do Chui, in Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.
Percnon gibbesi is a species of crab. It is one of at least two species commonly called "Sally Lightfoot", and is also referred to as the nimble spray crab or urchin crab. It has been described as "the most invasive decapod species to enter the Mediterranean".
Ocypode ryderi, also known as the pink ghost crab, is a species of ghost crab found on the east coast of Africa from the Eastern Cape Region to Kenya.
Ocypode gaudichaudii, also known as the painted ghost crab or cart driver crab, is a species of crab found on Pacific beaches from El Salvador to Chile as well as on the Galápagos Islands. The species was first described by Henri Milne-Edwards and Hippolyte Lucas in 1843.
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 U. vocans have been recognised, with their authors often granting them the taxonomic rank of full species or subspecies.
Afruca tangeri is a species of fiddler crab that lives along the Atlantic coasts of southwestern Europe and western Africa.
Planes minutus is a species of pelagic crab that lives in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is typically less than 10 mm (0.4 in) long across the back, and is variable in colouration, to match its background. It may have been the crab seen by Christopher Columbus on Sargassum weed in the Sargasso Sea in 1492.
The gulf ghost crab, Hoplocypode occidentalis, is a species of ghost crabs native to the Pacific coast of the Americas, from the Gulf of California to Colombia. It is the only species in the genus Hoplocypode. Gulf ghost crabs are medium-sized, reaching a maximum overall body diameter of 6 in (15 cm). They are one of only two ghost crab species found in the eastern Pacific. However, gulf ghost crabs can easily be distinguished from painted ghost crabs by the absence of "horns" on their eyes.
Ocypode africana, commonly known as the African ghost crab, is a species of ghost crabs native to the eastern Atlantic coast of western Africa, from Mauritania to Namibia. They are medium-sized ghost crabs reaching carapace width of 3.4 cm (1.3 in). They can vary in coloration from pinkish to dark grey. They are one of only two ghost crab species found in the eastern Atlantic. However, African ghost crabs can easily be distinguished from tufted ghost crabs by the absence of long tufts of hair on the tip of their eyestalks.
Ocypode brevicornis is a species of ghost crab native to the Indian Ocean, from the Gulf of Oman to the Nicobar Islands. They are relatively large ghost crabs with a somewhat trapezoidal body. The carapace reaches a length of 41 mm (1.6 in) and a width of 50 mm (2.0 in). They are a mottled brown to yellow in coloration. Like other ghost crabs, one of their claws is much larger than the other. Their eyestalks are large and elongated, tipped with prolongations at the tip known as styles. They are common inhabitants of open sandy beaches, living in burrows in the intertidal zone.
Ocypode convexa, commonly known as the golden ghost crab, or alternatively the western ghost crab or yellow ghost crab, is a species of ghost crabs endemic to the coast of Western Australia, from Broome to Perth. They are relatively large ghost crabs, with a carapace growing up to 45 mm (1.8 in) long and 52 mm (2.0 in) wide. They are easily recognisable by their golden yellow colouration. Like other ghost crabs they have box-like bodies with unequally sized claws. They also have large eyestalks with the cornea occupying most of the bottom part.
Halitrephes maasi, commonly known on the internet as the firework Jellyfish, is a species of deep sea hydrozoan of the family Halicreatidae. The most recent account of the jelly has been found at a depth of 4,000-5,000 feet near the Revillagigedo Archipelago off Baja California Peninsula, Mexico.