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Adult ghost crabs dig deep [[burrow]]s, comprising a long shaft with a chamber at the end, occasionally with a second entrance shaft. They remain in the burrow during the hottest part of the day, and throughout the coldest part of the winter.<ref name="Karleskint"/> They emerge mostly at night, to feed on [[mole crab]]s and [[Donax|''coquina'' clams]], although they will also eat a wide range of items, including [[carrion]], [[debris]] and [[turtle]] [[hatchling]]s.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pat Garber |year=2006 |title=Ocracoke Wild: A Naturalist's Year on an Outer Banks Island |publisher=[[Parkway Publishers]] |isbn=9781933251318 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KF9lKLEgkt0C&pg=PA97 |chapter=Phantoms in the Surf: Ghost Crabs |pages=94–98}}</ref>
Adult ghost crabs dig deep [[burrow]]s, comprising a long shaft with a chamber at the end, occasionally with a second entrance shaft. They remain in the burrow during the hottest part of the day, and throughout the coldest part of the winter.<ref name="Karleskint"/> They emerge mostly at night, to feed on [[mole crab]]s and [[Donax|''coquina'' clams]], although they will also eat a wide range of items, including [[carrion]], [[debris]] and [[turtle]] [[hatchling]]s.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pat Garber |year=2006 |title=Ocracoke Wild: A Naturalist's Year on an Outer Banks Island |publisher=[[Parkway Publishers]] |isbn=9781933251318 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KF9lKLEgkt0C&pg=PA97 |chapter=Phantoms in the Surf: Ghost Crabs |pages=94–98}}</ref>


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==Etymology==
The name "ghost crab" derives from the animals' [[nocturnality]] and their pale colouration;<ref name="Karleskint"/> only ''[[Ocypode gaudichaudii|O. gaudichaudii]]'' is brightly coloured.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Warren W. Burggren & Brian Robert McMahon |year=1988 |title=Biology of the land crabs |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9780521306904 |chapter=Ecology |author=Thomas G. Wolcott |pages=55–97 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RR09AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA91}}</ref> The scientific name ''Ocypode'' is derived from the [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] [[Root (linguistics)|roots]] ''{{lang|el|ocy-}}'' ("fast") and {{lang|el|[[:wikt:ποδός|ποδός]]}} (''{{lang|el|podos}}'', "foot"), in reference to the animal's speed. It also glows fluorescent yellow at night. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/species-bank/sbank-treatment.pl?id=77373 |work=SpeciesBank |title=''Ocypode cordimana'' (Family Ocypodidae) |publisher=[[Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts]] |accessdate=November 5, 2010 |author=Keith Davey}}</ref>


==Locomotion==
==Locomotion==

Revision as of 03:15, 29 January 2012

"Ocypode" redirects here. For the harpy in Greek mythology, see Ocypete.

Ghost crabs
Ocypode quadrata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Order:
Decapoda
Infraorder:
Brachyura
Family:
Ocypodidae
Genus:
Ocypode

Weber, 1795 [1]
Type species
Cancer ceratophthalmus
Pallas, 1772

Ghost crabs, also called sand crabs, are crabs of the genus Ocypode, common shore crabs in many countries. Characteristics of the genus include one claw being larger than the other, but this difference is not as marked as in male fiddler crabs.

Ecology

Ghost crabs dominate sandy shores in tropical and subtropical areas, replacing the sandhoppers that predominate in cooler areas.[2] They breathe through gills, which they periodically wet with seawater.[2] They must also return to the ocean to release their eggs, which develop into marine larvae.[2]

Adult ghost crabs dig deep burrows, comprising a long shaft with a chamber at the end, occasionally with a second entrance shaft. They remain in the burrow during the hottest part of the day, and throughout the coldest part of the winter.[2] They emerge mostly at night, to feed on mole crabs and coquina clams, although they will also eat a wide range of items, including carrion, debris and turtle hatchlings.[3]

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Locomotion

The gait of O. ceratophthalmus alters as its speed increases. It can walk indefinitely using all four pairs of walking legs, occasionally alternating which side leads. At higher speeds, the fourth pair of legs is raised off the ground, and at the highest speeds, the crab runs, using only the first and second pairs of walking legs.[4]

Species

There are 28 species in the genus:[1]

Ocypode cordimana at night

References

  1. ^ a b Sammy De Grave, N. Dean Pentcheff, Shane T. Ahyong; et al. (2009). "A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Suppl. 21: 1–109. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c d George Karleskint, Richard Turner & James Small (2009). "Intertidal communities". Introduction to Marine Biology (3rd ed.). Cengage Learning. pp. 356–411. ISBN 9780495561972.
  3. ^ Pat Garber (2006). "Phantoms in the Surf: Ghost Crabs". Ocracoke Wild: A Naturalist's Year on an Outer Banks Island. Parkway Publishers. pp. 94–98. ISBN 9781933251318.
  4. ^ C. F. Herreid II & R. J. Full (1988). "Energetics and locomotion". In Warren W. Burggren & Brian Robert McMahon (ed.). Biology of the land crabs. Cambridge University Press. pp. 333–377. ISBN 9780521306904.

Further reading

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