Mictyris guinotae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mictyris guinotae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Mictyridae |
| Genus: | Mictyris |
| Species: | M. guinotae |
| Binomial name | |
| Mictyris guinotae Davie et al., 2010 | |
Mictyris guinotae is a species of soldier crab of genus Mictyris, endemic to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.[1][2] They were named after Danièle Guinot, a professor at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in France, and were first treated as a separate species in a tribute volume to Guinot.[1]
Mictyris guinotae has a well-defined subglobular body, slightly less wide than long, a relatively smooth carapace, and long thin legs. They range in color from pale to dark blue, with occasional pale pink variants; they tend to be darker when they are younger and lighter when they are older. The adult male specimens observed had carapaces between 8 and 16 mm long; adult female carapace lengths ranged from 6 to 14 mm.[1]
Behavior
These crabs live in colonies of hundreds to hundreds of thousands of individuals, in flat lagoon areas of the islands they inhabit. In times of low tide, they form large swarms or "armies" that cross the lagoons en masse, while at high tide they remain under the sand.[1][3] Their main natural predators are shore birds, and they are sensitive to bird shadows, moving quickly away from them.[3]
