''Leptuca saltitanta'', commonly known as the energetic fiddler crab, is a species of
fiddler crab
The fiddler crab or calling crab may be any of more than one hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae, well known for their sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic claws; the males' major claw is much larger than th ...
native to the eastern Pacific coasts, from
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
in
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
to
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
in
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 ...
.
[
]
Taxonomy
Previously a member of the genus ''Uca
The fiddler crab or calling crab may be any of more than one hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae, well known for their sexually dimorphic claws; the males' major claw is much larger than the minor claw, whil ...
'', the species was transferred in 2016 to the genus ''Leptuca
''Leptuca'' is a genus of fiddler crabs belonging to the family Ocypodidae.
The species of this genus are found on the coasts of the Americas.
Description
They are small- to large-sized crabs with an adult carapace width of 5–25 mm in adult ...
'' when ''Leptuca
''Leptuca'' is a genus of fiddler crabs belonging to the family Ocypodidae.
The species of this genus are found on the coasts of the Americas.
Description
They are small- to large-sized crabs with an adult carapace width of 5–25 mm in adult ...
'' was promoted from subgenus to genus level.[
]
Description
This is a small crab with an adult carapace
A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
width of approximately 6-9mm.[ Females are dark, whereas non-displaying males can be gray, yellow, or brown.][ Displaying males are usually entirely white, but some coloring may be present.][
]
Habitat
The species prefers to live in unshaded, open mudflats near river mouths.[ Mangrove stands are usually nearby.][
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q107086610
Ocypodoidea
Taxa named by Jocelyn Crane
Crustaceans described in 1941