Leptuca uruguayensis
Scientific classification Edit this 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

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]

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

  1. 1 2 3 4 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.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. 1 2 Crane, Jocelyn (1975). Fiddler Crabs of the World: Ocypodidae: Genus Uca (PDF). New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press.
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