| Burrowing shore crab | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Leptograpsodidae Guinot, Ng & Rodríguez Moreno, 2018 |
| Genus: | Leptograpsodes Montgomery, 1931 |
| Species: | L. octodentatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Leptograpsodes octodentatus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) | |
| Synonyms | |
List
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Leptograpsodes octodentatus, known as the burrowing shore crab, is a species of crab in the superfamily Grapsoidea, It is the only species in the genus Leptograpsodes, and the family Leptograpsodidae.
Description
It is up to 60 to 70 mm (2.4 to 2.8 in) across, with an oval shaped carapace. The species epithet octodentatus refers to four pairs of teeth (including the orbital angle) on the sides of the carapace, although the fourth is very small. Some references list one tooth only. Color varies with the carapace described as grey and yellow, mottled green and brown, purple and yellow. It can produce sound by stridulation.
Sexual dimorphism
Adult males have large claws with curved fingers, with irregular teeth, whereas in females and juveniles the fingers are straight, with regular teeth. These differences caused them to originally be given multiple species names.
Environment
It is typically found on southern Australian seashores in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia (north to the Abrolhos islands), and tends to live near fresh or brackish water, but never far from the shore. It lives in shallow burrows, above the high tide line, and comes out to feed at night, on rotting vegetation and animal debris. Spawning is in summer from December to January.
References
- ^ WoRMS. "Leptograpsodes octodentatus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ WoRMS. "Leptograpsodes Montgomery, 1931". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ WoRMS. "Leptograpsodidae Guinot, Ng & Rodriguez Moreno, 2018". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ George, R. W. (1962-09-15). "The Burrowing Shore Crab of Southern Australiia". Australian Natural History. XIV (3): 71–74.
- ^ Taylor, J.; Poore, G. (2010). "Leptograpsodes octodentatus Burrowing Shore Crab in Museums Victoria Collections". Museums Victoria. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ^ Guinot, D; Ng, N. K. G.; Rodriguez Moreno, P. A. (2018-12-21). "Review of grapsoid families for the establishment of a new family for Leptograpsodes Montgomery, 1931, and a new genus of Gecarcinidae H. Milne Edwards, 1837 (Crustacea, Decapoda,Brachyura,Grapsoidea Macleay, 1838)". Zoosystema. 40 (26): 545–604. doi:10.5252/zoosystema2018v40a26.
- Griffin, D. J. G. (1969-04-18). "Notes on the taxonomy and zoogeography of the Tasmanian grapsid and ocypodid crabs (Crustacea, Brachyura)". Records of the Australian Museum. 27 (18): 323–347]. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.27.1969.452.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Leptograpsodes | |
| Leptograpsodidae | |
| Leptograpsodes octodentatus | |
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