| Ovalipes ocellatus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Ovalipidae |
| Genus: | Ovalipes |
| Species: | O. ocellatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Ovalipes ocellatus | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
Ovalipes ocellatus, commonly known as the lady crab, [a] oscellated crab, [b] or calico crab, [6] [c] is a species of crab in the family Ovalipidae. [2] [8]
The carapace of O. ocellatus is slightly wider than long, at 8.9 centimetres (3.5 in) wide, [6] and 7.5 cm (3.0 in) long. [9] The carapace is yellow-grey [9] or light purplish, [6] with "leopardlike clusters of purple dots". [9] It exhibits a limited iridescence as a form of signalling. [10]
Ovalipes ocellatus is commonly known as the lady crab, [a] oscellated crab, [b] or calico crab. [6] It was first described in 1799 by naturalist Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst, who placed it into the genus Cancer . [1] [2] In 1898, carcinologist Mary Jane Rathbun moved the species to her new genus Ovalipes . [11] O. ocellatus is part of a distinct group of Ovalipes which also includes O. floridanus, O. iridescens, O. molleri, and O. stephensoni. [12] [10] [d] O. ocellatus is almost identical to O. floridanus, which lives in the Gulf of Mexico, but can be separated from the sympatric O. stephensoni by purple spots which O. stephensoni lacks. [9] The following cladogram based on morphology shows the relationship between O. catharus and the other extant species of Ovalipes: [10] [e]
The distribution of Ovalipes ocellatus extends along North America's Atlantic coast from Canada to Georgia. [9] O. ocellatus is "probably the only Ovalipes species common north of Virginia", being replaced by Ovalipes stephensoni to the south. [14]
The diet of Ovalipes ocellatus consists predominantly of bivalves, crustaceans including other crabs, polychaetes, cephalopods, and gastropods. [15] [16] It rarely feeds on fish. [15]
Ovalipes ocellatus has five zoeal (larval) stages, lasting a total of 18 days at 25 °C (77 °F) and a salinity of 30‰, and 26 days at 20 °C (68 °F) and 30‰. [17]
Ovalipes ocellatus is nocturnal and often buries itself in the sand. [6] [9] It has been described as "vicious" and "the crab most likely to pinch a wader's toes". [9]
King crabs are decapod crustaceans of the family Lithodidae that are chiefly found in deep waters and are adapted to cold environments. They are composed of two subfamilies: Lithodinae, which tend to inhabit deep waters, are globally distributed, and comprise the majority of the family's species diversity; and Hapalogastrinae, which are endemic to the North Pacific and inhabit exclusively shallow waters. King crabs superficially resemble true crabs but are generally understood to be closest to the pagurid hermit crabs. This placement of king crabs among the hermit crabs is supported by several anatomical peculiarities which are present only in king crabs and hermit crabs, making them a prominent example of carcinisation among decapods. Several species of king crabs, especially in Alaskan and southern South American waters, are targeted by commercial fisheries and have been subject to overfishing.
Anomura is a group of decapod crustaceans, including hermit crabs and others. Although the names of many anomurans include the word crab, all true crabs are in the sister group to the Anomura, the Brachyura.
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.
Ovalipes is a genus of crabs in the family Ovalipidae.
Maja is a genus of majid crabs erected by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1801. It includes the following extant species:
Retroplumidae is a family of heterotrematan crabs, placed in their own (monotypic) superfamily, Retroplumoidea.
Ovalipes catharus, commonly known as the paddle crab, swimming crab, or, in Māori, pāpaka, is a species of crab in the family Ovalipidae. It is found in shallow, sandy-bottomed waters around the coasts of New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and uncommonly in southern Australia. O. catharus is an opportunistic, aggressive, and versatile feeder active mostly at night, preying predominantly on molluscs and crustaceans. It is also highly prone to cannibalism, which accounts for over a quarter of its diet in some locations. The crab's paddle-shaped rear legs and streamlined carapace allow it to capture prey by swimming rapidly and to escape predation by burrowing in the sand. Its mating season is in winter and spring; the male carries the female until she moults, after which the two mate and the female likely moves into deeper waters to incubate and disperse her larvae.
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.
Hepatus epheliticus, known by various names, including the calico crab and Dolly Varden crab, is a species of crab. It lives in shallow water in the western Atlantic Ocean from the Chesapeake Bay to the Dominican Republic. It has a 3-inch (76 mm)–wide carapace adorned with large red spots with darker outlines.
Panopeus is a genus of crabs, containing these extant species:
Hepatus is a genus of crabs in the family Aethridae, containing seven extant species, plus some fossil species:
Xantho is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing five extant species, all restricted to the north-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, although Xantho granulicarpis is not universally recognised as a separate species from Xantho hydrophilus:
Micropanope is a genus of crabs in the family Pseudorhombilidae, containing one exclusively fossil species and the following species:
Paraxanthias is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing one exclusively fossil species and the following extant species:
Xanthias is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing two exclusively fossil species and the following extant species:
Xanthodius is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing one exclusively fossil species and the following species:
Zosimus is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species:
Pinnixa chaetopterana, the tube pea crab, is a small decapod crustacean that lives harmlessly within the tube of the polychaete worm, Chaetopterus variopedatus.
Ovalipes trimaculatus is a species of crab in the family Ovalipidae.
Media related to Ovalipes ocellatus at Wikimedia Commons
