Puerto Rican sand crab | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Decapoda |
Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
Infraorder: | Anomura |
Family: | Hippidae |
Genus: | Emerita |
Species: | E. portoricensis |
Binomial name | |
Emerita portoricensis Schmitt, 1935 | |
The Puerto Rican sand crab, Emerita portoricensis, is a species of "sand crab" belonging to the genus Emerita , which is native to the main island of Puerto Rico and its archipelago. [1] This species has also been found on beaches off the coast of Venezuela. [2] The most detailed study conducted on the species was done by Miguel P. Sastre between 1988 and 1992. [1] This investigation determined that the species has diotic traits and that there are size and survival differences between sexes. Both sexes reach sexual maturity three months after birth. [3]
On average, the carapace length of males is 11mm and 19mm in females. [3]
Puerto Rican sand crabs, along with Hippa cubensis , Emerita brasiliensis, and Lepidora richmondi inhabit the sandy beaches of Golfo Triste in Venezuela. Using their uropods, they dig into the sand, primarily in the surf zone. As filter feeders, they use their antennae to catch detritus and plankton caught in the waves. [2]
This species is also a good bioindicator for mercury levels in the water. In one study, mercury levels in E. portoricensis tended to be higher when compared to the sediment samples around it. [2]
Emerita is a small genus of decapod crustaceans, known as mole crabs, sand fiddlers, or sand crabs. These small animals burrow in the sand in the swash zone and use their antennae for filter feeding.
The Puerto Rican spindalis is a bird endemic to the island of Puerto Rico, where it is commonly known as reina mora or cigua puertorriqueña. The species is widely distributed throughout the island and is an important part of the Puerto Rican ecosystem because of its help in seed dispersal and plant reproduction.
The Puerto Rican woodpecker is the only woodpecker endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico and is one of the five species of the genus Melanerpes that occur in the Antilles. Furthermore, it is the only resident species of the family Picidae in Puerto Rico. The species is common on the main island of Puerto Rico and rare on the island of Vieques.
The fauna of Puerto Rico is similar to other island archipelago faunas, with high endemism, and low, skewed taxonomic diversity. Bats are the only extant native terrestrial mammals in Puerto Rico. All other terrestrial mammals in the area were introduced by humans, and include species such as cats, goats, sheep, the small Indian mongoose, and escaped monkeys. Marine mammals include dolphins, manatees, and whales. Of the 349 bird species, about 120 breed in the archipelago, and 47.5% are accidental or rare.
The Puerto Rican bullfinch is a small bullfinch tanager endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. The species can be commonly found in heavy forests throughout Puerto Rico, except on the easternmost tip of the island. It consumes seeds, fruits, insects, and spiders. The nest is spherical, with an entrance on the side. Typically three light green eggs are laid.
The Guánica State Forest, popularly known as the Guánica Dry Forest is a subtropical dry forest located in southwest Puerto Rico. The area was designated as a forest reserve in 1919 and a United Nations Biosphere Reserve in 1981. It is considered the best preserved subtropical dry forest and the best example of dry forest in the Caribbean.
Eleutherodactylus portoricensis is a frog native to Puerto Rico that belongs to the family Eleutherodactylidae. Its vernacular English names are forest coquí,upland coquí, mountain coquí, and Puerto Rican robber frog. The species’ range spans the Luquillo Mountains of northeastern Puerto Rico and the Cordillera Central, which forms the highland “backbone” of Puerto Rico and includes an eastern extension beginning at the city of Cayey. However, the species is likely extirpated from the western Cordillera Central.
Schoepfia arenaria is an extremely rare species of hemiparasitic flowering plant in the Schoepfiaceae family. It grows as a small, multi-trunked tree. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is found growing along the northern coast. A local Spanish vernacular name recorded for this tree is araña ('spider'). It has no common name in English.
Guana Island is an island of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in the Caribbean. One of the few remaining privately owned islands in its part of the world, Guana has seven white powder-sand beaches and 850 acres (3.4 km2) of tropical forest, mountains, hills, and valleys. The island is mostly natural preserve and has a small resort.
The Puerto Rican oriole, or calandria is a species of bird in the family Icteridae, and genus Icterus or New World blackbirds. This species is a part of a subgroup of orioles that includes the North American orchard oriole, Icterus spurius, and the hooded oriole, Icterus cucullatus.
Emerita analoga, the Pacific sand crab, Pacific mole crab or coldwater mole crab, is a species of small, sand-burrowing decapod crustacean found living in the sand along the temperate western coasts of North and South America. It is found on exposed sandy beaches in the swash region of the intertidal zone.
Emerita rathbunae is a species of "mole crabs" or "sand crabs" in the genus Emerita that lives along the tropical Pacific coasts of the Americas.
E. portoricensis may refer to:
Emerita talpoida, known generally as the Atlantic mole crab or Atlantic sand crab, is a species of mole crab in the family Hippidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Mexico along the shoreline.
Guilarte State Forest is one of the 20 forests that make up the public forests system in Puerto Rico. The forest is located in the eastern half of the Central Mountain Range or Cordillera Central. The main geographical feature of the forest reserve is Monte Guilarte, which is Puerto Rico's 7th highest mountain at 3,950 feet above sea level. While Monte Guilarte is located in the municipality of Adjuntas, the forest's borders also include parts of Guayanilla, Peñuelas and Yauco.
Los Tres Picachos State Forest is one of the 20 forests that make up the public forest system of Puerto Rico. The forest is located in the Central Mountain Range or Cordillera Central, along the Los Tres Picachos mountain ridge, one of the island's highest mountains, named after the distinctive three peaks of the highest mountain in the forest. The state forest is located in the municipalities of Jayuya and Ciales.
San Patricio State Forest, also known as the San Patricio Urban Forest is one of the 20 forests that make up the public forest system of Puerto Rico. This is a secondary or second-growth forest is located in the Gobernador Piñero district of San Juan, between the neighborhoods of Villa Borinquen, Caparra Heights and Borinquen Towers complex. The urban forest has entrances on Roosevelt Avenue and Ensenada Street. The forest extends to almost 70 acres and it is the smallest protected area in the Puerto Rico state forest system. One of the most distinctive features of the forest is the mogote on its northern edge which can be observed from many parts of San Juan and Guaynabo. The forest is part of the Northern Karst.
Caja de Muertos Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in southern Puerto Rico consisting of the islands of Caja de Muertos, Cayo Morrillito, Cayo Berbería, and their surrounding reefs and waters in the Caribbean Sea. This nature reserve was founded on January 2, 1980, by the Puerto Rico Planning Board as recommended by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources with the purpose of preserving the subtropical dry forest ecosystems found within these islands, some important sea turtle nesting sites, and the marine habitats found on their surrounding reefs and waters.