Ucides cordatus   (Linnaeus, 1763)

Mangrove crab

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Ucides cordatus  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Ucides cordatus

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Malacostraca | Decapoda | Ocypodidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; brackish; depth range 0 - 1 m (Ref. 114664).  Tropical; 28°N - 30°S, 98°W - 34°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Atlantic Ocean: from USA throughout the Antilles to Brazil.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 10.0 cm CW male/unsexed; (Ref. 367); max. reported age: 10 years (Ref. 101693)

Short description Morphology

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.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

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).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Tavares, M. 2003. (Ref. 367)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)


CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
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Tools

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 27 - 28.3, mean 27.5 (based on 313 cells).
Resilience (Ref. 69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.15-1.22; tm=2.9; tmax=10).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.