''Thalassina anomala'', known as the scorpion mud lobster, is a species of crustacean in the

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 ...

'' Thalassinidae''.

Description

''Thalassina anomala'' are typically in length, with records of specimens up to long. Its body is yellow to reddish-brown.

Distribution

''T. anomala'' is found in the Indo-West Pacific region. It is the most common decapod crustacean in the Sundarbans in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, though it is often overlooked in traditional sampling efforts.

Ecology and behavior

Its habitat includes

littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...

and

supralittoral The supralittoral zone, also known as the splash zone, spray zone or the supratidal zone, sometimes also referred to as the white zone, is the area above the spring high tide line, on coastlines and estuaries, that is regularly splashed, but not su ...

zones such as those in mangroves and

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

. Excavated mud from their nighttime burrowing activities can form hills that reach heights of . The burrows are estimated at in depth. In the

monsoon season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

, its muddy nest becomes saturated with water and submerges, and the lobster is exposed, allowing it to be easily caught. ''T. anomala'' is considered of high importance ecologically, as its nightly burrowing pushes deep soil to the surface, while also helping the import of aerated tidal water up to 2.5 meters deep. The mud mounds provide habitat for other animals including ''

Odontomachus malignus ''Odontomachus'' is a genus of ants commonly called trap-jaw ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world. Overview Commonly known as trap-jaw ants, species in ''Odontomachus'' have a pair of large, straight mandibles capabl ...

'' (an ant),

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

s, ''

Episesarma singaporense ''Episesarma'' is a genus of swimming crabs species in the family Sesarmidae. Species * ''Episesarma chentongense'' (Serène & Soh, 1967) * ''Episesarma crebrestriatum'' (Tesch, 1917) * ''Episesarma lafondii'' (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1846) * '' ...

'' (tree-climbing crab), '' Wolffogebia phuketensis'' (mangrove mud shrimp), ''

Acrochordus granulatus ''Acrochordus granulatus'' is a snake species found from India through Southeast Asia to the Solomon Islands. It is known as the little file snake, marine file snake, and little wart snake.

'' (file snake), and plants such as the tree '' Excoecaria agallochoa'' and

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6496220 Thalassinidea Crustaceans of the Indian Ocean Crustaceans of the Pacific Ocean Edible crustaceans Extant Albian first appearances Crustaceans described in 1804 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst