Cymo melanodactylus

Cymo melanodactylus, the furry coral crab, is a species of small decapod crustacean in the family Xanthidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and lives in crevices and on the surface of corals in the genus Acropora.

Cymo melanodactylus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Order:
Decapoda
Infraorder:
Brachyura
Family:
Xanthidae
Genus:
Cymo
Species:
C. melanodactylus
Binomial name
Cymo melanodactylus
Dana, 1852[1]
Synonyms
  • Cancer (Cymo) meladactylus De Haan, 1833
  • Cancer (Cymo) meladactylus Herklots, 1861
  • Cymo melanodactylus saviiensis Ward, 1939

Description

The carapace and limbs of Cymo melanodactylus have the appearance of being covered with short fur. It has large pale blue, stalked eyes,[2] a spiny carapace with a shallow groove down the middle and grows to about 1.3 cm (0.5 in) wide.[3] It typically has black fingers to its claws but is difficult to distinguish from the rather similar Cymo andreossyi on claw colour alone as some individuals have white finger tips and others have white fingers with black bases. A more reliable feature to distinguish between the two is the orange granulations on the carapace of Cymo melanodactylus.[4]

Distribution

Cymo melanodactylus is found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Its range extends from the Red Sea and Madagascar to New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna.[1]

Biology

Cymo melanodactylus is an obligate commensal of Acropora spp. corals.[4] On the large table coral Acropora cytherea, there are usually just one or two of these crabs per head of coral. The crabs feed mostly on mucus secreted by the coral, but also consume zooplankton and suspended particles and nibble the living tissue,[5] though the coral seems little harmed by this. In 2010 in the Chagos Archipelago, infestations of as many as 47 of these crabs were found on individual heads of coral and these corals exhibited dead and dying tissue. The crabs were in close proximity to the damaged tissues but it was unclear whether the crabs were the original cause of the damage or whether they had moved in to exploit the already dying tissues.[6] A more recent study has shown that Cymo melanodactylus is attracted to acroporid corals suffering from white band disease and that the disease advances at a much slower rate when the crabs are present than it does when they are absent.[7]

In the Seychelles, this crab was found living on a different species of coral, Acropora formosa. A single coral head supported a mated pair, a single female and some juveniles.[4]

References
  1. Davie, Peter (2012). "Cymo melanodactylus Dana, 1852". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
  2. "Cymo melanodactylus - Schwarzfingrige Korallenkrabbe" (in German). Meerwasser-Lexikon.de. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  3. Ward, Melbourne (1939). "The Brachyura of the second Templeton Crocker American Museum Expedition to the Pacific Ocean" (PDF). American Museum Novitates. 1049.
  4. Garth, John S. (1984). "Brachyuran decapod crustaceans of coral reef communities of the Seychelles and Amirante Islands" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-01-19.
  5. Patton, Wendell K. (1994). "Distribution and Ecology of Animals Associated with Branching Corals (Acropora Spp.) from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia". Bulletin of Marine Science. 55 (1): 193–211.
  6. Pratchett, M.S.; Graham, N.A.J.; Sheppard, C.R.C.; Mayes, B. (2010). "Are infestations of Cymo melanodactylus killing Acropora cytherea in the Chagos archipelago?" (PDF). Coral Reefs. 29 (4): 941. doi:10.1007/s00338-010-0654-x.
  7. Pollock, F. J.; Katz, S. M.; Bourne, D. G.; Willis, B. L. (2012). "Cymo melanodactylus crabs slow progression of white syndrome lesions on corals". Coral Reefs. 32: 43–48. doi:10.1007/s00338-012-0978-9.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.