Austruca mjoebergi
Austruca mjoebergi is a species of fiddler crab discovered by and named after the Swedish zoologist Eric Mjöberg (1882–1938), member of a Swedish scientific expedition to Australia in the early 1900s.
| Austruca mjoebergi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Austruca mjoebergi, banana fiddler crab, Australia | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Ocypodidae |
| Subfamily: | Gelasiminae |
| Tribe: | Gelasimni |
| Genus: | Austruca |
| Species: | A. mjoebergi |
| Binomial name | |
| Austruca mjoebergi | |
The crab is found along the north and northwest coast of Australia (approximately from Dampier to the Gulf of Carpentaria and on Papua New Guinea's northwest coast).[2]
Austruca mjoebergi was formerly in the genus Uca, but in 2016 it was placed in the genus Austruca, a former subgenus of Uca.[3][4][5]
Claw bluffing
Male Austruca mjoebergi rely heavily on their enlarged claw to signal dominance and fighting prowess. Crabs which lose their large claw will occasionally regenerate a lighter, cheaper claw (requiring less energy to produce). Research has shown that, while crabs with these 'cheap' claws are worse fighters than crabs with strong claws of a similar size, they are just as effective at intimidating other crabs based on claw size alone.[6][7]
References
- Peter K. L. Ng; Danièle Guinot & Peter J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 17: 1–286. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- "Austruca mjoebergi". Fiddler Crabs. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- Shih, Hsi-Te; Ng, Peter K. L.; Davie, Peter J. F.; Schubart, Christoph D.; et al. (2016). "Systematics of the family Ocypodidae Rafinesque, 1815 (Crustacea: Brachyura), based on phylogenetic relationships, with a reorganization of subfamily rankings and a review of the taxonomic status of Uca Leach, 1814, sensu lato and its subgenera". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 64.
- Rosenberg, Michael S. (2019). "A fresh look at the biodiversity lexicon for fiddler crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae). Part 1: Taxonomy". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 39 (6).
- "WoRMS taxon details, Austruca mjoebergi (Rathbun, 1924)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- British Ecological Society (November 13, 2008). "Fiddler crabs reveal honesty is not always the best policy". University of New South Wales. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
- Simon P. Lailvaux; Leeann T. Reaney & Patricia R. Y. Backwell (2009). "Regenerated claws dishonestly signal performance and fighting ability in the fiddler crab Uca mjoebergi". Functional Ecology. 23 (2): 359–366. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01501.x.