Leptuca uruguayensis
Leptuca uruguayensis, commonly known as the Uruguayan fiddler crab or the southwestern Atlantic fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to temperate and subtropical areas of the southeastern coast of South America.[1]
| Leptuca uruguayensis | |
|---|---|
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. uruguayensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Leptuca uruguayensis (Nobili, 1901) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Uca uruguayensis Nobil, 1901 | |
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.[2][3]
Description
The adult crab's carapace is usually between 10 and 16.5 millimetres (0.39 and 0.65 in) wide.[4] Non-breeding males have a green carapace and red major cheliped; when breeding, the carapace of the male whitens.[4] The major cheliped can remain red or also whiten.
Distribution
The crab is native to South America where its range includes Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.[1]
Habitat
The species lives on silty sand or sandy silt soils with some organic matter.[1] It prefers brackish and saline environments of moderate to high salinity.[1]
References
- Thurman, Carl L.; Faria, Samuel C.; McNamara, John C. (2013). "The distribution of fiddler crabs (Uca) along the coast of Brazil: implications for biogeography of the western Atlantic Ocean". Marine Biodiversity Records. 6: e1. doi:10.1017/S1755267212000942.
- 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.
- Crane, Jocelyn (1975). Fiddler Crabs of the World: Ocypodidae: Genus Uca (PDF). New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press.