Macrophthalmus crassipes is a species of sentinel crab in the family Macrophthalmidae, found around China, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, and the Caroline Islands.[1] In Australia it is found from north Western Australia through to New South Wales.[1] Common names include the seagrass sentinel crab[2] and the orange spined sentinel crab. On adult males there is a substantial tooth on the lower claw and a much smaller tooth on the upper claw, and noticeable orange spines on the “wrist” (carpus) of the clawed leg and on the palm of the clawed leg.[1] The carapace is covered in small granules, and is up to around 37 mm (1.5 in) across.[3][4] It is a burrowing crab, and lives in open tidal flats, muddy or with sandy mud, low on tidal creek banks, and adjacent mangroves.[1]
| Seagrass sentinel crab | |
|---|---|
| |
| On Nudgee Beach, Queensland | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Macrophthalmidae |
| Genus: | Macrophthalmus |
| Subgenus: | Macrophthalmus (Macrophthalmus) |
| Species: | M. crassipes
|
| Binomial name | |
| Macrophthalmus crassipes (Milne Edwards, 1852)
| |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Davie, P.J.F. (2012). "A review of Macrophthalmus sensu lato (Crustacea:Decapoda:Macrophthalmidae) from Australia, including two new species and new records". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature. 56 (1). Queensland Museum: 149–219.
- ^ "Macrophthalmus crassipes". iNaturalist. California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2022-12-18..
- ^ Barnes, R.S.K (1967). "The Macrophthalminae of Australasia; with a review of the evolution and morphological diversity of the type genus Macrophthalmus (Crustacea:Brachyura)". Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. 31: 195–262.
- ^ Gary C. B. Poore; Shane T. Ahyong (2004). Marine decapod Crustacea of southern Australia: a guide to identification. CSIRO Publishing. pp. 541–542. ISBN 0-643-06906-2.
