Tubuca signata | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Decapoda |
Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
Infraorder: | Brachyura |
Family: | Ocypodidae |
Subfamily: | Gelasiminae |
Genus: | Tubuca |
Species: | T. signata |
Binomial name | |
Tubuca signata (Hess, 1865) | |
Tubuca signata, the signalling fiddler crab, [1] is a species of fiddler crab that is found in Australia from Queensland to northwestern Australia. [2]
Tubuca signata males have one claw that is significantly larger than the other, while females have two equal-sized smaller claws. The male adult upper claw (pollex) is smooth and bright white while the lower claw (dactyl) has a single groove along its length. The wrist (manus) is red. [3] The male carapace is typically up to 17 mm wide (95% of individuals are this size or smaller), with females slightly smaller. [1]
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in freshwater, and on land. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton. They generally have five pairs of legs, and they have pincer claws on the ends of the frontmost pair. They first appeared during the Jurassic period, around 200 million years ago.
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.
The fiddler crab or calling crab can be one of the hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae. These crabs are well known for their extreme sexual dimorphism, where the male crabs have a major claw significantly larger than their minor claw, whilst females claws are both the same size. The name fiddler crab comes from the appearance of their small and large claw together, looking similar to a fiddle.
The Dungeness crab makes up one of the most important seafood industries along the west coast of North America. Its typical range extends from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to Point Conception, near Santa Barbara, California. Dungeness typically grow 6–7 in (150–180 mm) at their widest point and inhabit eelgrass beds and sandy bottoms. Its common name comes from the Dungeness Spit in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington state, United States, which shelters a shallow bay inhabited by the crabs.
The Florida stone crab is a crab found in the western North Atlantic, from Connecticut to Colombia, including Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, Belize, Mexico, Jamaica, Cuba, The Bahamas, and the East Coast of the United States. The crab can also be found in and around the salt marshes of South Carolina and Georgia. It is widely caught for food. The closely related species Menippe adina is sometimes considered a subspecies – they can interbreed, forming hybrids – and they are treated as one species for commercial fishing, with their ranges partly overlapping. The two species are believed to have diverged approximately 3 million years ago.
The Tasmanian giant crab, also known as the giant deepwater crab, giant southern crab, queen crab, or bullcrab, is a very large species of crab that resides on rocky and muddy bottoms in the oceans off Southern Australia. It is the only extant species in the genus Pseudocarcinus.
Austruca perplexa is a species of fiddler crab. It is found from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan to India, throughout the Malay Archipelago, along eastern Australian coasts from Queensland to New South Wales, and in various Pacific islands, including Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Austruca annulipes is a species of fiddler crab found along the coastline from South Africa to Somalia, Madagascar, India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Minuca minax, commonly known as the red‐jointed fiddler crab or brackish-water fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab that is found in the United States from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the most common macroinvertebrates in salt marshes in these states. It prefers areas of lower salinity than other fiddler crabs, and can be found in great numbers along the banks of tidal streams, even at distances greater than 50 km (31 mi) from the sea.
Tubuca urvillei is a species of fiddler crab. It is found in Southeastern Africa from southern Somalia to South Africa and Madagascar.
Tubuca alcocki is a species of fiddler crab. Its range includes most of the northern Indian Ocean, from western Thailand, through the Bay of Bengal and India, to the Red Sea.
Tubuca flammula, commonly known as the flame-backed fiddler crab is a species of fiddler crab that is found in the northwest of Western Australia, the northern part of the Northern Territory and the western half of Papua New Guinea
Tubuca is a genus in Ocypodidae, a family of fiddler and ghost crabs. There are more than 20 described species in Tubuca.
Australoplax tridentata, commonly known as the furry-clawed crab or tuxedo shore crab is a species of crab in the family Macrophthalmidae that is found in Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory.
Gelasimus vomeris is a species of fiddler crab found in the southwest Pacific Ocean. In Australia, it is found in the east and north from Darwin to Sydney.
Tubuca polita, commonly known as the polished fiddler crab. or pink-clawed fiddler crab is a species of fiddler crab that is found in the northern part of Australia including the Torres Strait Islands
Tubuca coarctata is a species of fiddler crab found in the western Pacific ocean, including Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia. The common name of these crabs is either the compressed fiddler crab, or the orange-clawed fiddler crab,. They are found on tidal mud flats adjacent mangroves and muddy tidal creek and river banks.
Tubuca dussumieri, is a species of fiddler crab that is found in the western and south pacific including New Caledonia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, north eastern Australia
Portunus armatus is a species of crustacean, a swimming crab in the family Portunidae found in Australia and eastwards to New Caledonia. Common names include blue swimmer crabs, Blue manna, Blueys, and Jennies. The species was originally considered as a geographic variation of Portunus pelagicus, however in 2010 the Portunus pelagicus species was reviewed using DNA, as well as physical characteristics including measurements and four species recognised: Portunus pelagicus, Portunus armatus, Portunus reticulatis and Portunus segnis. The range of Portunus armatus overlaps with Portunus pelagicus in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Tubuca capricornis, the capricorn fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab that is found in north west and northern Australia. It was named after its occurrence near the Tropic of Capricorn. These crabs live on shaded mud flats in mangroves.