Fiddler Crabs Home

Fiddler crabs are small, semi-terrestrial crabs are characterized by extreme cheliped asymmetry in males. They are most closely related to the Ocypode (ghost crabs). There are currently 107 recognized extant species.

Austruca mjoebergi photo Minuca minax photo Paraleptuca crassipes photo

Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassCrustacea
Sub-classMalocostraca
OrderDecapoda
InfraorderBrachyura
SuperfamilyOcypodoidea
FamilyOcypodidae
GeneraAfruca, Austruca, Cranuca, Gelasimus, Leptuca, Minuca, Paraleptuca, Petruca, Tubuca, Uca, Xeruca

The common English name “Fiddler Crab” comes from the feeding of the males, where the movement of the small claw from the ground to its mouth resembles the motion of a someone moving a bow across a fiddle (the large claw).

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Miscellania