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''Leptograpsus variegatus'', known as the purple rock crab, is a marine large-eyed crab of the
Individuals are large and may have a carapace that reaches up to 50mm in width. The crab has an overall purple colouration with a variable amount of white patterning when mature. Juveniles are a bluish grey colour with black patterning. The carapace is shaped somewhat like a square and eyes are relatively short. The body is smooth overall with no hairs.
When immature, the eggs are about 0.36mm in diameter and have a very dark brown colour. When the eggs are about to hatch, they are roughly 0.44x0.42mm and the eggs are light brown.
The first zoea of the crab are about 1.31mm in length.
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Grapsidae
The Grapsidae are a family of crabs known variously as marsh crabs, shore crabs, or talon crabs. The family has not been confirmed to form a monophyletic group and some taxa may belong in other families. They are found along the shore among rocks ...
, found in southern subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
Oceans. It grows to around shell width. It is the only species in the genus ''Leptograpsus''.
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Taxonomy
''Leptograpsus variegatus'' was first described in 1793 as ''Cancer. variegatus''. In 1803, ''C. variegatus'' was moved to the ''Grapsus'' genus and became ''Grapsus variegatus''. In 1818, 1842 and 1852, ''L. variegatus'' was described again as ''Grapsus personatus'', ''Grapsus strigilatus'' and ''Grapsus planifrons''. In 1853,Henri Milne-Edwards
Henri Milne-Edwards (23 October 1800 – 29 July 1885) was an eminent French zoologist.
Biography
Henri Milne-Edwards was the 27th child of William Edwards, an English planter and colonel of the militia in Jamaica and Elisabeth Vaux, a Frenchw ...
erected the ''Leptograpsus'' genus and used ''G. variegatus'' as the type taxon.MILNE EDWARDS, H. 1853. Memoire sur Ia famille des ocypodiens. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Zoologie (3), 20: 165–228, pis 6–11. In his publication, Milne-Edwards recognized ''G. personatus'', ''G. strigilatus and G. planifrons'' to be synonyms of ''L. variegatus''. Milne-Edwards also described ''Leptograpsus ansoni'', ''Leptograpsus gayi'' and ''Leptograpsus verreauxi,'' however these would later also be recognized as synonyms of ''L. variegatus.''
Description
Individuals are large and may have a carapace that reaches up to 50mm in width. The crab has an overall purple colouration with a variable amount of white patterning when mature. Juveniles are a bluish grey colour with black patterning. The carapace is shaped somewhat like a square and eyes are relatively short. The body is smooth overall with no hairs.
When immature, the eggs are about 0.36mm in diameter and have a very dark brown colour. When the eggs are about to hatch, they are roughly 0.44x0.42mm and the eggs are light brown.
The first zoea of the crab are about 1.31mm in length.
Distribution/habitat
''Leptograpsus variegatus'' is known to occur inAustralia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
(from western Australia to southern Australia), South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
(from Peru to Chile), New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and numerous islands in the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. The crab lives in upper intertidal rocky zones and is often spotted running along exposed rock, hiding in cracks or under boulders.
Life history
Adult females are known to carry eggs only in December. The females will incubate the eggs for roughly six weeks.Prey
''Leptograpsus variegatus'' is anomnivore
An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutr ...
and will eat a broad range of plant and animal life. While the crab may eat algae growing on rocks (such as '' Corallina'' and ''Ulva lactuca
''Ulva lactuca'', also known by the common name sea lettuce, is an edible green alga in the family Ulvaceae. It is the type species of the genus ''Ulva''. A synonym is ''U. fenestrata'', referring to its "windowed" or "holed" appearance.
Descrip ...
''), they have also been observed feeding on barnacle
A barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in eros ...
s and limpet
Limpets are a group of aquatic snails that exhibit a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. Limpets are members of the class Gastropoda, but are polyphyletic, meaning the various groups called "limpets" descended indep ...
s. The crab captures limpets by quickly placing their chelae
A chela ()also called a claw, nipper, or pinceris a pincer (biology), pincer-like organ at the end of certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Ancient Greek , through New Latin '. The plural form is chelae. Legs bearing a chela are ...
under the limpets shell when it begins to move and then flips it over. Notably, there is also a single observation of this species preying upon a Raukawa gecko, which is native to New Zealand.Bell, Trent & Bauer, A.. (2017). Predation on a free-ranging Raukawa gecko (Woodworthia maculata) by a purple rock crab (Leptograpsus variegatus). ''BioGecko''. 20 – 25.
References
Further reading
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6528127 Marine crustaceans of New Zealand Grapsidae Monotypic arthropod genera Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards