| Leptuca terpsichores | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Ocypodidae |
| Subfamily: | Gelasiminae |
| Tribe: | Minucini |
| Genus: | Leptuca |
| Species: | L. terpsichores |
| Binomial name | |
| Leptuca terpsichores (Crane, 1941) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Uca terpsichores (basionym) | |
Leptuca terpsichores, commonly known as the dancing fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the eastern Pacific coast of the Americas, from Nicaragua to Peru.
Taxonomy
Previously a member of the genus Uca, the species was transferred in 2016 to the genus Leptuca when Leptuca was promoted from subgenus to genus level. At one time, the species was considered a subspecies of L. musica.
Description
The adult carapace is approximately 7 mm wide. The carapace is grey in color and males may exhibit yellow dorsal markings.
Similar species
Leptuca terpsichores is smaller than L. musica. L. terpsichores has smaller tubercles on the outer manus and fewer tubercles along the anterior carapace. The gape in the major cheliped is less serrate and the gape in the minor cheliped is slightly narrower.
Habitat
The species can be found on bay shores with muddy sand substrate.
References
- ^ Crane, Jocelyn (1975). Fiddler Crabs of the World. Ocypodidae: Genus Uca (PDF). New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press.
- Shih, Hsi-Te; Ng, Peter K. L.; Davie, Peter J. F.; Schubart, Christoph D.; et al. (2016). "Systematics of the family Ocypodidae Rafinesque, 1815 (Crustacea: Brachyura), based on phylogenetic relationships, with a reorganization of subfamily rankings and a review of the taxonomic status of Uca Leach, 1814, sensu lato and its subgenera" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 64: 139–175.
- Rosenberg, Michael S. (2019). "A fresh look at the biodiversity lexicon for fiddler crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae). Part 1: Taxonomy". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 39 (6): 729–738. doi:10.1093/jcbiol/ruz057.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Leptuca terpsichores | |