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Showing posts with label Crabs of Cyprus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crabs of Cyprus. Show all posts

Friday 15 June 2018

Shamefaced Crab - Calappa granulata (Linnaeus, 1767) - Cyprus


Calappa is a genus of crabs known commonly as box crabs or shame-faced crabs. The name box crab comes from their distinctly bulky carapace, and the name shame-faced is from anthropomorphising the way the crab's chelae (claws) fold up and cover its face, as if it were hiding its face in shame.

 Photos  by Kostas Aristeidou




Friday 17 March 2017

Hermit crab - Calcinus tubularis (Linnaeus, 1767) - Cyprus


Calcinus tubularis is a species of hermit crab. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea and around islands in the Atlantic Ocean, where it lives below the intertidal zone. Its carapace, eyestalks and claws are marked with numerous red spots. C. tubularis and its sister species, C. verrilli, are the only hermit crabs known to show sexual dimorphism in shell choice, with males using normal marine gastropod shells, while females use shells of gastropods in the family Vermetidae, which are attached to rocks or other hard substrates.

The genus Calcinus has its centre of diversity in the central Pacific Ocean, and only two species occur in the north-eastern Atlantic – Calcinus paradoxus and Calcinus tubularis. C. tubularis is a chiefly Mediterranean species; its range extends from Madeira in the west to Lebanon in the east, with outlying records from Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Ascension Island. Although it is distinctively coloured, the sedentary behaviour of C. tubularis allows epibionts to colonise its shells, providing excellent camouflage, and it can easily go unnoticed; it was first reported on the coast of the Portuguese mainland in 2011, but is thought to have been living there for a long time.

The carapace of Calcinus tubularis is bluish in colour, with many red spots, and extends forwards as a short, triangular rostrum. The eyestalks are white with similar red spotting, as is the last segment of each of the walking legs, and both the fixed and movable fingers of the claws. The colour scheme exists in a dark form and a light form, which appears to be linked to camouflage, particularly for females. C. tubularis is of "normal size" for a Calcinus species, frequently exceeding a carapace width of 3 millimetres (0.12 in)

Calcinus tubularis is a rare species, found below the intertidal zone. It is one of only two species of hermit crab (the other being the closely related C. verrilli) in which sexual dimorphism in shell use has been observed. Males inhabit gastropod shells, chiefly those of Pisania maculosa or Cerithium vulgatum, which they can move freely; females occupy the fixed tubes made by the vermetid snail Lementina arenaria.

The only parasite known to attack Calcinus tubularis is a rhizocephalan barnacle, probably of the genus Septosaccus, although it is also targeted by another barnacle, Trypetesa lampas, which is an egg predator of various hermit crabs.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcinus_tubularis

Photos 5 mts deep,07.03.2017,Xylophagou. by Costas Constantinou


Wednesday 21 September 2016

Portunus hastatus (Linnaeus, 1767) - lancer swimcrab - swimming crab - Cyprus

Portunus is a genus of crab which includes several important species for fisheries, such as the blue swimming crab, Portunus pelagicus and the Gazami crab, P. trituberculatus.[2] Other species, such as the three-spotted crab (P. sanguinolentus) are caught as bycatch.

The genus Portunus contains more than 90 extant species and over 40 further species known only from fossils.

Fossils of crabs within this genus can be found in sediment of Europe, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and Australia from Paleogene to recent (age range: 48.6 to 0.0 million years ago)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portunus

Photo by Costas Constantinou


Underwater photos Limasol  by Kostas Aristeidou



Wednesday 3 August 2016

Rosy egg crab - Atergatis roseus. (Rüppell, 1830) - Cyprus


Lessepsian Migrant

Atergatis roseus, the rosy egg crab, is a species of reef crab from the family Xanthidae with a natural range extending from the Red Sea to Fiji. It has colonised the eastern Mediterranean by Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal. The flesh of this crab, like many other species in the family Xanthidae, is toxic.

Atergatis roseus has a wide, smooth, oval carapace with convex almost entire, with no indication of regions and with bluntly crested anterolateral margins. The pereiopods are laterally compressed with distal crests on the upper and lower margins. The carapace is reddish brown and the legs have black tips, younger specimens are paler, more reddish orange, with a white margins to the carapace. They grow to 6 cm, measuring the carapace length from the head to the posterior.

Atergatis roseus has wide Indo-Pacific distribution being found from the Red Sea and eastern Africa, south to KwaZulu-Natal east along the coasts if the Indian Ocean into the Pacific as far as Fiji. In the eastern Mediterranean, A. roseus was first recorded from Israel in 1961,then from Lebanon and the southern coasts of Turkey and Syria. It reached the Aegean Sea in 2005  and had got as far as Rhodes by 2009

Atergatis roseus inhabits coral reefs and rocky substrata, from the low tide mark to a depth of 30 metres. It prefers shallow reef rich areas with an abundance of places to hide, it is mainly nocturnal, slow moving and so prefers to ne near the security of a hiding place ro which it can retreat when threatened.[6] It is omnivorous but a large part of its diet is made up of plant material, although specimens have been recorded feeding on fish.

The meat of Atergatis roseus, like that of many other crabs from the family Xanthidae is toxic. The toxins are synthesised by bacteria of the genus Vibrio which live in symbiosis with the crab and the poisons are one similar to those found in puffer fish, i.e. tetrodotoxin, and also paralytic shellfish poison
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atergatis_roseus






Protaras,2.08.2016 Photos by Costas Constantinou




Friday 1 July 2016

Swimming crab - Charybdis sp. - Cyprus

Charybdis is a genus of swimming crabs in the family Portunidae.

Underwater photos Protaras by Costas Constantinou



























Tuesday 6 October 2015

Atlantic blue crab, or Chesapeake blue crab, Blue crab - Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) - Μπλε καβούρι - Cyprus


Callinectes sapidus (from the Greek calli- = "beautiful", nectes = "swimmer", and Latin sapidus = "savory"), the blue crabAtlantic blue crab, or regionally as the Chesapeake blue crab, is a species of crab native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and introduced internationally.
C. sapidus is of significant culinary and economic importance in the United States, particularly in Louisiana, the Chesapeake Bay, and New Jersey. It is the Maryland state crustacean and is the state's largest commercial fishery
Callinectes sapidus is a decapod crab of the swimming crab family Portunidae. The genus Callinectes is distinguished from other portunid crabs by the lack of an internal spine on the carpus (the middle segment of the claw), as well as by the T-shape of the male abdomen.Blue crabs may grow to a carapace width of 23 cm (9.1 in). C. sapidus individuals exhibit sexual dimorphism. Males and females are easily distinguished by the shape of the abdomen (known as the "apron") and by color differences in the chelipeds, or claws. The abdomen is long and slender in males, but wide and rounded in mature females. A popular mnemonic is that the male's apron is shaped like the Washington Monument, while the mature female's resembles the dome of the United States Capitol. Claw color differences are more subtle than apron shape. The immovable, fixed finger of the claws in males is blue with red tips, while females have orange coloration with purple tips. A female's abdomen changes as it matures: an immature female has a triangular-shaped abdomen, whereas a mature female's is rounded
Other species of Callinectes may be easily confused with C. sapidus because of overlapping ranges and similar morphology. One species is the lesser blue crab (C. similis). It is found further offshore than the common blue crab, and has a smoother granulated carapace. Males of the lesser blue crab also have mottled white coloration on the swimming legs, and females have areas of violet coloration on the internal surfaces of the claws. C. sapidus can be distinguished from another related species found within its range, C. ornatus, by number of frontal teeth on the carapace. C. sapidus has four, while C. ornatus has six.
The crab's blue hue stems from a number of pigments in the shell, including alpha-crustacyanin, which interacts with a red pigment,astaxanthin, to form a greenish-blue coloration. When the crab is cooked, the alpha-crustacyanin breaks down, leaving only the astaxanthin, which turns the crab to a red-orange or a hot pink color
Callinectes sapidus is native to the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Cod to Argentina and around the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It has recently been reported north of Cape Cod in the Gulf of Maine, potentially representing a range expansion due to climate change. It has been introduced (via ballast water) to Japanese and European waters, and has been observed in the BalticNorthMediterranean and Black Seas. The first record from European waters was made in 1901 at RochefortFrance. In some parts of its introduced range, C. sapidus has become the subject of crab fishery, including in Greece, where the local population may be decreasing as a result of overfishing. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Liopetri, 7/8/2014, by George Konstantinou

Pachygrapsus marmoratus (Fabricius, 1787) - Cyprus


Pachygrapsus marmoratus is a species of crab, sometimes called the marbled rock crab or marbled crab, which lives in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It is dark violet brown, with yellow marbling, and with a body up to 36 millimetres (1.4 in) long. It is an omnivore, feeding on algae and various animals including mussels and limpets.
P. marmoratus has a square carapace 22–36 millimetres (0.87–1.42 in) long, which is dark violet brown with marbling in yellow. It can be distinguished from related species of Pachygrapsus in the Mediterranean Sea (Pachygrapsus maurus and Pachygrapsus transversus) by the presence of three teeth on each side of the carapace. It is capable of very rapid movements, and it uses this ability to dart into crevices, making it difficult to catch.
It is widespread in Southern Europe, from the Black Sea to the Moroccan coast, and along the Atlantic coasts of PortugalSpain and France, and was observed as early as 1996 as far north as Southampton in the English Channel. This range expansion may be due to the warming of the surface waters.
P. marmoratus is an omnivore, but not an opportunist; crabs consume similar proportions of algae and animals however abundant they are in the crab's habitat. The favoured animals in the diet ofP. marmoratus are mussels, limpets and its own species. When attacking the limpet Patella depressaPachygrapsus marmoratus uses a consistent method, which is usually unsuccessful.On more sheltered shores, P. grapsus eats fewer mussels, but compensates with a greater consumption of barnacles.
Predators of Pachygrapsus marmoratus include the musky octopus, Eledone moschata.
The larvae of P. marmoratus are planktonic and may survive for up to 31 days. This results in high levels of gene flow between populations, and allows the species to rapidly colonise new areas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Rizokarpaso, 7/8/2015, by George Konstantinou

Monday 5 October 2015

Warty crab or Yellow crab - Eriphia verrucosa (Forsskål, 1775) - Πετροκάβουρας - Cyprus


Eriphia verrucosa, sometimes called the warty crab or yellow crab, is a species of crab found in the Black SeaMediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean from Brittany to Mauritania and the Azores. Individual crabs have been caught as far north as Cornwall.Formerly a frequent species in the Black Sea, it has decreased in numbers since the 1980s and is now listed in the Ukrainian Red Data Book of endangered species.
E. verrucosa lives among stones and seaweeds in shallow water along rocky coastlines up to a depth of 15 metres (49 ft). It is reported to feed on bivalvesgastropods and hermit crabs, or on molluscs and polychaetes. In the Black Sea, E. verrucosa is the only native species capable of breaking into the shells of the invasive snail Rapana venosa, although it is unlikely that it will present an effective biological control of the invader. The species is threatened by eutrophication and pollution.
E. verrucosa may reach a width of 9 centimetres (3.5 in) and a length of 7 cm (2.8 in). The carapace is thick and smooth, ranging in colour from brownish-red to brownish-green, with yellow spots; its front margin is armed with seven "teeth" on either side, and five or six between the eyes. The claws are strong and have black fingers; one claw is generally larger than the other and is armed with rounded tubercles while the smaller claw bears sharper projections, arranged in lines. In the springtime, E. verrucosa migrates to shallow water, less than 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) deep, and reproduction begins in May or June; the species is highly fecund. There are four larval stages, from zoea to megalopa.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Zygi 5/10/2015  by George Konstantinou






Sunday 9 August 2015

Semi-terrestrial crab - Levantine freshwater crab - Potamon potamios (Olivier, 1804) Κάβουρας γλυκού νερού - Cyprus

Family: Potamidae
Potamon potamios, the Levantine freshwater crab, is a semi-terrestrial crab occurring around the eastern Mediterranean, including many Mediterranean islands,extending as far south and west as the Sinai Peninsula.

Potamon is a genus of freshwater or semiterrestrial crabs mainly found from Southern Europe through the Middle East, and as far east as north-western India. The only exception is the North African P. algeriense, which also is the only potamid of mainland Africa. Twenty species are currently recognised:These crabs are omnivores that have a broad ecological tolerance. The adult Potaman reach up to 50 mm in size during their 10-12 year life span.


Photos Orkonta , by George Konstantinou

Tufted ghost crab - Ocypode cursor (Linnaeus, 1758) - Cyprus

Family:Ocypodidae

Ocypode cursor, the tufted ghost crab, is a species of ghost crab found on sandy beaches along the coasts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Description
Ocypode cursor can reach a carapace width of 55 millimetres (2.2 in). O. cursor can be distinguished from O. ceratophthalma and other species of Ocypode by the presence of a tuft of setae (bristles) extending from the tips of the eyestalks.

Distribution
Ocypode cursor has a disjunct distribution, comprising the eastern Mediterranean Sea and tropical parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, but not the western Mediterranean Sea which connects them. It is thought that O. cursor entered the Mediterranean Sea during a warm period, but was restricted to the warmer eastern part during a subsequent cooler period, isolating the two populations. Similar patterns are seen in the sea snail Charonia variegata and the sea anemone Telmatactis cricoides. Its range is apparently expanding in the Mediterranean, and it is likely that the two populations may rejoin in the future. In the Atlantic Ocean, O. cursor reaches as far south as northern Namibia, but does not reach South Africa.

Ecology
In West Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean, Ocypode cursor prefers to live in sandy beaches, where it burrows near the high-tide mark, and sometimes above the intertidal zone altogether. The water content of the sand was the key factor determining burrow distribution. It is less tolerant of extremes of salinity and temperature than the fiddler crab Uca tangeri, but can still extend some distance into brackish waters. O. cursor is a predator, and frequently feeds on the eggs of sea turtles. In the Mediterranean Sea, where the tidal range is negligible, the burrows of O. cursor begin within 3 metres (10 ft) of the sea, with larger crabs further from the water's edge.

Taxonomy
Ocypode cursor was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, under the name "Cancer cursor. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Rizokarpaso, 7/8/2015, by George Konstantinou


Thursday 16 July 2015

Documentation on the establishment of Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) in Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean) By G. Κonstantinou and K. Kapiris

See also

Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) - Cyprus


Mediterranean Marine Science journal


http://www.katsanevakis.com/PDF%20files/MMS_Thessalou_et_al_Biodiversity_Records.pdf

2.4. Documentation on the establishment of Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) in Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean) 

By G. Κonstantinou and K. Kapiris 

A total of 133 alien species have been recorded from Cyprus up to December 2010 (30 fish, 44 molluscs, 19 polychaetes, 15 phytobenthic species, 12 crustaceans and 13 species from other taxa). Of these, 109 are Lessepsian immigrants (105 of Indo-Pacific origin, 4 cosmopolitan or circumtropical) (EASTMED, 2010). Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) is the most invasive decapod species to enter the Mediterranean from the Atlantic, with a rapid expansion across that Sea, and a remarkable ability to establish large populations in anthropogenically impacted areas (e.g. ports) as well as in natural habitats. Regarding Cyprus, although P. gibbesi does not appear in the EASTMED (2010) report and in Katsanevakis et al. (2009), two observations, in Dhekelia (Larnaca) and Limassol, were cited in Katsanevakis et al. (2011a), dating back to 2006 and 2007, respectively. We herein record the species from a new location on the south coast of Cyprus, and provide data on the material collected. Three male and three female specimens of the sally lightfoot crab (Figs. 5 a-d) were collected on 5/8/2012 in the sea area between Zygi and Alaminos, close to Larnaca (0.5-1 m) by underwater observation using snorkelling gear (33o 23’27’’E/34o 44’39’’N, 33o 20’38’’E/34o 43’44’’N). The bottom consisted of submerged boulders covered by a thin layer of microalgal felt, rock ledges and, partially, sand. The sampling habitat in the above studied area was similar to that reported from elsewhere in the Mediterranean (Pipitone et al., 2001; Cannicci et al., 2004; Deudero et al., 2005). Gender, body measurements and weight of the collected specimens are presented in Table 2. Among the females caught, two were berried, in accordance with other records on the brooding season in the Mediterranean (Sciberras and Schembri, 2007). On the other hand, the occurrence of ovigerous females supports that P. gibbesi is established in Cyprus.



Wednesday 15 July 2015

Sally Lightfoot - Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) - Cyprus

See also

Documentation on the establishment of Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) in Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean) By G. Κonstantinou and K. Kapiris


Alien species of Cyprus



Percnon gibbesi 
is a species of crab. It is one of at least two species commonly called "Sally Lightfoot" (the other being the semi-terrestrial Grapsus grapsus from the Pacific coast of the Americas), and is also referred to as the nimble spray crab or urchin crab. It has been described as "the most invasive decapod species to enter the Mediterranean"
Adults have a carapace 30 millimetres (1.2 in) wide, and legs with yellow rings at the joints. Each of the five pairs of walking legs has a row of spines along the leading edge. Females carrying eggs have been caught off West Africa between February and April and August; the larvae which hatch from them are planktonic and long-lived, which may contribute to the species' invasiveness
The genus Percnon is currently "doubtfully placed" in the family Plagusiidae, and it has also been included in the family Grapsidae
P. gibbesi is one of the most widespread grapsid crabs, being found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and on the Pacific coast of North America. There, its range extends from California to Chile, while in the Atlantic, it occurs natively from Florida to Brazil and from Madeira to the Gulf of Guinea. It has recently invaded the Mediterranean Sea, having first been discovered at LinosaSicily in 1999. It has subsequently been found on the Balearic Islands, in Greece, Cyprus, in Libya and in Malta.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Photos Potamos tou Kampou 15/7/2015 by George Konstantinou

                                                          Video Costas Constantinou