Leptuca uruguayensis

Leptuca uruguayensis, commonly known as the Uruguayan fiddler crab or the southwestern Atlantic fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to temperate and subtropical areas of the southeastern coast of South America.[1]

Leptuca uruguayensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Ocypodidae
Subfamily: Gelasiminae
Tribe: Minucini
Genus: Leptuca
Species:
L. uruguayensis
Binomial name
Leptuca uruguayensis
(Nobil, 1901)
Synonyms

Uca uruguayensis Nobil, 1901

Taxonomy

Previously a member of the genus Uca, the species was transferred in 2016 to the genus Leptuca when Leptuca was promoted from subgenus to genus level.[2][3]

Description

The adult crab's carapace is usually between 10mm and 16.5mm wide.[4] Non-breeding males have a green carapace and red major cheliped; when breeding, the carapace of the male whitens.[4] The major cheliped can remain red or also whiten.

Distribution

The crab is native to South America where its range includes Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.[1]

Habitat

The species lives on silty sand or sandy silt soils with some organic matter.[1] It prefers brackish and saline environments of moderate to high salinity.[1]

References
  1. Thurman, Carl L.; Faria, Samuel C.; McNamara, John C. (2013). "The distribution of fiddler crabs (Uca) along the coast of Brazil: implications for biogeography of the western Atlantic Ocean". Marine Biodiversity Records. 6.
  2. Shih, Hsi-Te; Ng, Peter K. L.; Davie, Peter J. F.; Schubart, Christoph D.; et al. (2016). "Systematics of the family Ocypodidae Rafinesque, 1815 (Crustacea: Brachyura), based on phylogenetic relationships, with a reorganization of subfamily rankings and a review of the taxonomic status of Uca Leach, 1814, sensu lato and its subgenera". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 64.
  3. Rosenberg, Michael S. (2019). "A fresh look at the biodiversity lexicon for fiddler crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae). Part 1: Taxonomy". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 39 (6).
  4. Crane, Jocelyn (1975). Fiddler Crabs of the World: Ocypodidae: Genus Uca. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, USA.
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