Panopeus lacustris

Last updated

Panopeus lacustris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Subphylum:
Class:
Order:
Infraorder:
Superfamily:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
P. lacustris
Binomial name
Panopeus lacustris
Desbonne in Desbonne & Schramm, 1867 [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Panopeus crassus A. Milne-Edwards, 1880
  • Panopeus herbstii granulosus A. Milne-Edwards, 1880

Panopeus lacustris, the knot-fingered mud crab, is a true crab belonging to the infraorder Brachyura. It can be distinguished from related species by its exceptionally broad and knobbly main chela (claw). [2]

Contents

Description

The knot-fingered mud crab is a small crab with unequal-sized chelae. The larger one is particularly broad and has teeth in the "molar area" and an immobile finger. Often this claw is worn and coalesced. The carapace and upper side of the limbs are a dull mottled reddish colour while the undersides of the body and limbs are whitish. Individuals living in caves are paler in colour and have antennules with white spots. [2]

Distribution and habitat

The knot-fingered mud crab is native to the subtropical western Atlantic Ocean, its range including southern Florida, Bermuda, the Caribbean Sea, the West Indies, and along the coast of South America as far south as Cabo Frio in Brazil. It was introduced into Hawaii in the 1950s and has also been present on the Pacific Coast of California since the 1980s or earlier. [2]

Ecology

This crab is sometimes parasitised by Loxothylacus panopaei , a species of parasitic barnacle that develops inside a host crab, [3] manipulating the behaviour of the crab so that it cares for the barnacle's eggs, carrying them around and brooding them under its abdomen as if they were its own young. [4] In fact, both male and female crabs are prevented from breeding and effectively castrated by the parasitic barnacle. [4] Other mud crabs also act as hosts to the barnacle, but it was as a parasite of the knot-fingered mud crab that it was first described in 1884, the type locality being Tampa, Florida. [3]

Related Research Articles

Sacculina is a genus of barnacles that is a parasitic castrator of crabs. They belong to a group called Rhizocephala. The adults bear no resemblance to the barnacles that cover ships and piers; they are recognised as barnacles because their larval forms are like other members of the barnacle class Cirripedia. The prevalence of this crustacean parasite in its crab host can be as high as 50%.

<i>Panopeus herbstii</i> Species of crab

Panopeus herbstii is a true crab, belonging to the infraorder Brachyura, and is the largest of the mud crabs.

Isopoda Order of arthropods

Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen that are used in respiration. Females brood their young in a pouch under their thorax.

<i>Cancer pagurus</i> species of crustacean

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.

Pea crab Species of crab

The pea crab, Pinnotheres pisum, is a small crab in the family Pinnotheridae that lives as a parasite in oysters, clams, mussels, and other species of bivalves.

Hematodinium is a genus of dinoflagellates. Species in this genus, such as Hematodinium perezi, the type species, are internal parasites of the hemolymph of crustaceans such as the Atlantic blue crab and Norway lobster. Species in the genus are economically damaging to commercial crab fisheries, including causing bitter crab disease in the large Tanner or snow crab fisheries of the Bering Sea.

Hemioniscus balani, a species of isopod crustacean, is a widespread parasitic castrator of barnacle in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from Norway to the Atlantic coast of France, and as far west as Massachusetts. It is also commonly found on the Pacific coast of North America; it is not known if the Pacific and Atlantic populations are the same species, or if the Pacific population exists following human-assisted introduction.

Calcinus tubularis is a species of hermit crab. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea and around islands in the Atlantic Ocean, where it lives below the intertidal zone. Its carapace, eyestalks and claws are marked with numerous red spots. C. tubularis and its sister species, C. verrilli, are the only hermit crabs known to show sexual dimorphism in shell choice, with males using normal marine gastropod shells, while females use shells of gastropods in the family Vermetidae, which are attached to rocks or other hard substrates.

<i>Dyspanopeus sayi</i> Species of crab

Dyspanopeus sayi is a species of mud crab that is native to the Atlantic coast of North America. It has also become established outside its native range, living in Swansea Docks since 1960, the Mediterranean Sea since the 1970s, the North Sea since 2007 and the Black Sea since 2010. It can reach a carapace width of 20 mm (0.8 in), and has black tips to its unequal claws. It feeds on bivalves and barnacles, and is in turn eaten by predators including the Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. Eggs are produced from spring to autumn, the offspring reach sexual maturity the following summer, and individuals can live for up to two years. The closest relative of D. sayi is D. texanus, which lives in the Gulf of Mexico; the two species differ in subtle features of the genitalia and the last pair of walking legs.

Thinstripe hermit crab Species of crustacean

The thinstripe hermit crab, Clibanarius vittatus, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Alpheus heterochaelis</i>

Alpheus heterochaelis, the bigclaw snapping shrimp, is a snapper or pistol shrimp in the family Alpheidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

<i>Atergatis floridus</i> Species of crab

Atergatis floridus, the floral egg crab, green egg crab or shawl crab, is a species of tropical Indo-Pacific crab from the family Xanthidae. The meat of this crab is toxic, even if cooked, and consumption often results in death.

<i>Charybdis hellerii</i> Species of crab

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.

Charybdis longicollis, the lesser swimming crab, is a species of crab from the swimming crab family, the Portunidae. It has a native range which covers the north-western Indian Ocean and it has been invaded the Mediterranean Sea by Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal.

<i>Loxothylacus panopaei</i> Species of barnacle

Loxothylacus panopaei is a species of barnacle in the family Sacculinidae. It is native to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. It is a parasitic castrator of small mud crabs in the family Panopeidae, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Panopeus occidentalis</i> Furrowed mud crab

Panopeus occidentalis, the furrowed mud crab, is a true crab belonging to the infraorder Brachyura. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean, its range extending from North Carolina to Florida, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the West Indies, the Guianas and Brazil, as far south as the state of Santa Catarina. Its depth range is down to about 20 m (66 ft).

<i>Eurypanopeus depressus</i> Species of crab

Eurypanopeus depressus, the flatback mud crab or depressed mud crab, is a true crab belonging to the infraorder Brachyura and the family Panopeidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean and is often found in estuaries and lagoons, commonly living in close association with oysters.

<i>Sacculina carcini</i> Species of barnacle

Sacculina carcini, the crab hacker barnacle, is a species of parasitic barnacle in the family Sacculinidae, in particular a parasitic castrator, of crabs. The crab that most often is used as a host is the green crab, the natural range of which is the coasts of Western Europe and North Africa. It can be found attached to the crab's abdomen and affect consumption rates by humans.

<i>Pagurus dalli</i>

Pagurus dalli, commonly known as the whiteknee hermit, is a species of hermit crab in the family Paguridae. It is found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean at depths down to about 276 m (900 ft). It usually lives in a mutualistic symbiosis with a sponge, or sometimes a hydroid.

<i>Clistosaccus</i> Genus of barnacles

Clistosaccus is a genus of barnacles which are parasitic on hermit crabs. It is a monotypic genus, and the single species is Clistosaccus paguri, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 Davie, Peter (2010). "Panopeus lacustris Desbonne in Desbonne & Schramm, 1867". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Puglisi, Melany P. (1 October 2008). "Panopeus lacustris Desbonne, 1867". Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory. Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  3. 1 2 Fofonoff, P.W.; Ruiz, G.M.; Steves, B.; Simkanin, C.; Carlton, J.T. (2017). "Loxothylacus panopaei". NEMESIS. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Introduced Crab Parasites Hijack Mud Crab Reproduction in Chesapeake Bay". Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. August 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2017.