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| name = Ghost crabs
| name = Ghost crabs
| image = Ocypode quadrata (Cahuita).jpg
| image = Ocypode quadrata (Cahuita).jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Ocypode quadrata]]''
| image_caption = Atlantic Ghost Crab (''[[Ocypode quadrata]]'')
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
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| familia = [[Ocypodidae]]
| familia = [[Ocypodidae]]
| genus = '''''Ocypode'''''
| genus = '''''Ocypode'''''
| genus_authority = [[Friedrich Weber (entomologist)|Weber]], 1795&nbsp;<ref name="Grave">{{cite journal |journal = [[Raffles Bulletin of Zoology]] |year=2009 |volume = Suppl. 21 |pages=1–109 |title = A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans |author=Sammy De Grave, N. Dean Pentcheff, Shane T. Ahyong ''et al.'' |url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s21/s21rbz1-109.pdf |format=[[Portable Document Format|PDF]]}}</ref>
| genus_authority = [[Friedrich Weber (entomologist)|Weber]], 1795<ref name="Grave">{{cite journal |journal = [[Raffles Bulletin of Zoology]] |year=2009 |volume = Suppl. 21 |pages=1–109 |title = A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans |author=Sammy De Grave, N. Dean Pentcheff, Shane T. Ahyong ''et al.'' |url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s21/s21rbz1-109.pdf |format=[[Portable Document Format|PDF]]}}</ref>
| type_species = ''[[Ocypode ceratophthalmus|Cancer ceratophthalmus]]''
| type_species = ''[[Ocypode ceratophthalmus|Cancer ceratophthalmus]]''
| type_species_authority = Pallas, 1772
| type_species_authority = Pallas, 1772
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==Etymology==
==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=978-0-521-30690-4 |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. <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>
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=978-0-521-30690-4 |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.<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==
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==Species==
==Species==
There are 26 species in the genus:<ref>{{cite WoRMS |author=Peter Davie & Michael Türkay |year=2012 |title=''Ocypode'' Weber, 1795 |id=106970 |accessdate=November 6, 2012}}</ref>
There are 26 species in the genus:<ref name=WoRMS>{{cite WoRMS |author=Peter Davie & Michael Türkay |year=2012 |title=''Ocypode'' Weber, 1795 |id=106970 |accessdate=November 6, 2012}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=21em}}
{{div col|colwidth=21em}}
*''[[Ocypode africana]]'' <small>De Man, 1881</small>
*''[[Ocypode africana]]'' <small>De Man, 1881</small>
*''[[Ocypode brevicornis]]'' <small>H. Milne-Edwards, 1837</small>
*''[[Ocypode brevicornis]]'' <small>H. Milne-Edwards, 1837</small>
*''[[Ocypode ceratophthalmus]]'' <small>(Pallas, 1772)</small> – the horned ghost crab<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/basch/uhnpscesu/htms/NPSAinvr/fish_pops/ocypod/crab01.htm |title=Ghost crabs |work=Marine Invertebrates of the National Park of American Samoa |accessdate=January 2, 2010 |date=November 10, 2009 |publisher=[[University of Hawaii]]}}</ref> or horn-eyed ghost crab<ref name="sg">{{cite web |url=http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/crab/ocypodoidea/ceratophthalma.htm |title=Horn-eyed ghost crab ''Ocypode ceratophthalma'' |date=May 2009 |publisher=[[Wild Singapore]]}}</ref>
*''[[Ocypode ceratophthalmus]]'' <small>(Pallas, 1772)</small>
*''[[Ocypode convexa]]'' <small>Quoy & Gaimard, 1824</small>
*''[[Ocypode convexa]]'' <small>Quoy & Gaimard, 1824</small>
*''[[Ocypode cordimanus]]'' <small>Latreille, 1818</small> – smooth-handed ghost crab<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbri.org.au/Species/Ocypodecordimanus.aspx |title=''Ocypode cordimanus'' |publisher=[[University of Queensland]] |work=Great Barrier Reef Invertebrates |accessdate=August 12, 2012 |author=Sharon Edgley |year=2011}}</ref>
*''[[Ocypode cordimanus]]'' <small>Latreille, 1818</small>
*''[[Ocypode cursor]]'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small>
*''[[Ocypode cursor]]'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> – tufted ghost crab,<ref>{{cite web|title=Ocypode cursor|url=http://www.sealifebase.fisheries.ubc.ca/summary/Ocypode-cursor.html|work=SeaLifeBase|publisher=UBC - Canada|accessdate=August 4, 2013}}</ref>
*''[[Ocypode fabricii]]'' <small>H. Milne-Edwards, 1837</small>
*''[[Ocypode fabricii]]'' <small>H. Milne-Edwards, 1837</small>
*''[[Ocypode gaudichaudii]]'' <small>H. Mile-Edwards & Lucas, 1843</small> – painted ghost crab<ref>{{cite journal |author=Thomas J. Trott |year=1988 |title=Note on the foraging activities of the painted ghost crab ''Ocypode gaudichaudii'' H. Milne Edwards & Lucas in Costa Rica (Decapoda, Brachyura) |journal=[[Crustaceana]] |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=217–219 |jstor=20104392}}</ref>
*''[[Ocypode gaudichaudii]]'' <small>H. Mile-Edwards & Lucas, 1843</small>
*''[[Ocypode jousseaumei]]'' <small>(Nobili, 1905)</small>
*''[[Ocypode jousseaumei]]'' <small>(Nobili, 1905)</small>
*''[[Ocypode kuhlii]]'' <small>De Haan, 1835</small>
*''[[Ocypode kuhlii]]'' <small>De Haan, 1835</small>
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*''[[Ocypode nobili]]'' <small>De Man, 1902</small>
*''[[Ocypode nobili]]'' <small>De Man, 1902</small>
*''[[Ocypode occidentalis]]'' <small>Stimpson, 1860</small>
*''[[Ocypode occidentalis]]'' <small>Stimpson, 1860</small>
*''[[Ocypode pallidula]]'' <small>Jacquinot, 1846</small>
*''[[Ocypode pallidula]]'' <small>Jacquinot, 1846</small> – pallid ghost crab<ref name=WoRMS/>
*''[[Ocypode pauliani]]'' <small>Crosnier, 1965</small>
*''[[Ocypode pauliani]]'' <small>Crosnier, 1965</small>
*''[[Ocypode platytarsis]]'' <small>H. Milne-Edwards, 1852</small>
*''[[Ocypode platytarsis]]'' <small>H. Milne-Edwards, 1852</small>
*''[[Ocypode pygoides]]'' <small>Ortmann, 1894</small>
*''[[Ocypode pygoides]]'' <small>Ortmann, 1894</small>
*''[[Ocypode quadrata]]'' <small>(Fabricius, 1787)</small>
*''[[Ocypode quadrata]]'' <small>(Fabricius, 1787)</small> – Atlantic ghost crab<ref name=WoRMS/>
*''[[Ocypode rotundata]]'' <small>Miers, 1882</small>
*''[[Ocypode rotundata]]'' <small>Miers, 1882</small>
*''[[Ocypode ryderi]]'' <small>Kingsley, 1880</small>
*''[[Ocypode ryderi]]'' <small>Kingsley, 1880</small> – pink ghost crab<ref>[http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/19328106 Pink Ghost Crab], Project Noah</ref>
*''[[Ocypode saratan]]'' <small>(Forskål, 1775)</small>
*''[[Ocypode saratan]]'' <small>(Forskål, 1775)</small>
*''[[Ocypode sinensis]]'' <small>Dai, Song & Yang, 1985</small>
*''[[Ocypode sinensis]]'' <small>Dai, Song & Yang, 1985</small>

Revision as of 21:12, 31 October 2013

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

Ghost crabs
Atlantic Ghost Crab (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]

Etymology

The name "ghost crab" derives from the animals' nocturnality and their pale colouration;[2] only O. gaudichaudii is brightly coloured.[4] The scientific name Ocypode is derived from the Greek roots ocy- ("fast") and ποδός (podos, "foot"), in reference to the animal's speed.[5]

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.[6]

Species

There are 26 species in the genus:[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ 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 e George Karleskint, Richard Keith Turner & James Small (2009). "Intertidal communities". Introduction to Marine Biology (3rd ed.). Cengage Learning. pp. 356–411. ISBN 978-0-495-56197-2.
  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 978-1-933251-31-8.
  4. ^ Thomas G. Wolcott (1988). "Ecology". In Warren W. Burggren & Brian Robert McMahon (ed.). Biology of the land crabs. Cambridge University Press. pp. 55–97. ISBN 978-0-521-30690-4.
  5. ^ Keith Davey. "Ocypode cordimana (Family Ocypodidae)". SpeciesBank. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  6. ^ 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 978-0-521-30690-4.
  7. ^ a b c Peter Davie & Michael Türkay (2012). "Ocypode Weber, 1795". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  8. ^ "Ghost crabs". Marine Invertebrates of the National Park of American Samoa. University of Hawaii. November 10, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
  9. ^ "Horn-eyed ghost crab Ocypode ceratophthalma". Wild Singapore. May 2009.
  10. ^ Sharon Edgley (2011). "Ocypode cordimanus". Great Barrier Reef Invertebrates. University of Queensland. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  11. ^ "Ocypode cursor". SeaLifeBase. UBC - Canada. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  12. ^ Thomas J. Trott (1988). "Note on the foraging activities of the painted ghost crab Ocypode gaudichaudii H. Milne Edwards & Lucas in Costa Rica (Decapoda, Brachyura)". Crustaceana. 55 (2): 217–219. JSTOR 20104392.
  13. ^ Pink Ghost Crab, Project Noah
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