| Ocypodidae (fiddler and ghost crabs) |
| 10 cm CW (male/unsexed); max. reported age: 10 years |
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benthic; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 1 m |
| Atlantic Ocean: from USA throughout the Antilles to Brazil. |
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Carapace broadly egg-shaped, narrow posteriorly, its length slightly less than 4/5 of width, strongly convex longitudinally, nearly subcylindrical in midline, and smooth but with regions well outlined; lateral marginal ridges regularly curved, not divided into lobes, converging posteriorly; fronto-orbital distance (space between outer orbital angles) not more than 2/3 of maximum carapace width in adult males. Pincers elongate, usually somewhat dissimilar and unequal in both sexes, armed with sometimes strong spines or sharp tubercles on inner margins; fingers of major hand slightly longer than palm; dactyls of walking legs ridged but not spiny, legs of males bearing very low silky hairs. Color: carapace usually bluish with some yellowish areas, legs pinkish; hairs on legs grey to almost black, lateral margins of carapace dark in adults. |
| Found in estuaries (Ref. 104235). Supratidal to intertidal (Ref. 97531). Commonly associated with mangroves. Lives in burrows as deep as 70 cm, always reaching to the water table, either in open ground or under vegetation; often occurring among burrows of other crabs (Cardisoma, Uca, and Goniopsis spp. The most sluggish of the land crabs (Ref. 367). Herbivorous and detritivorous (Ref. 86356), feeding mainly on mangrove leaves along with other plant material, detritus, sediment and animal material (Ref. 104111). Either directly consumes mangrove leaf litter or stores it in the burrows (Ref. 104235). |
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Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. 123251)
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