Cook Islands Biodiversity Database

Species Page

Back to: «« Search Page | « Results Page

Add to My List

Cardisoma carnifex

Tupa

Mud-flat Cardisoma-Crab

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult with pincers outstretched	63KB
Image:	Adult with pincers outstretched	60KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Mud-flat Cardisoma-Crab, Butcher Land-Crab

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tupa / Rata (RR), Tupa? (MG), Tupa (AK TS TW RK PK); COMMENT: Rarotonga: Rata in Ngatangiia, Tupa elsewhere (Turara Pekepo 1998).

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Taiwan - Cooks - Tuamotu

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group common but absent on makatea islands; N.Group common; Land, coastal, breed in the sea

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food;

KEY FEATURES: Carapace 50x60mm. A large dull, dark reddish-brown crab with a deep transversely oval carapace with rounded sides to allow for the expanded gill chambers. Large idividuals can be orange-yellow in colour. On larger males the chelipeds are conspiculously unequal, and large females have somewhat unequal chelipeds.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Separated from the other local Cardisoma by having the furry-checks much narrower than high, and by lacking obvious oblique striae on the posterolateral borders of tthe carapace. The males of the other species also have equal and not greatly enlarged nippers.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++L	P?	-	-	-	P			P

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
P	P	P	+++

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Cardisoma carnifex (Herbst, 1796)
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; CRUSTACEA; MALACOSTRACA; EUMALACOSTRACA; Eucarida; Decapoda; Reptantia; Brachyura; Brachygnatha; Brachyrhyncha; GECARCINIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food;. Comments: Eat on RK AK

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Manuae: AccNo.1971.201. Tongareva: BPBM-Cat.2114. Manihiki: Bullivant74. Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Cardisoma carnifex.

References:
Special Reference: Forest & Guinot 1961 [Fr.]; Yaldwyn & Wodzicki 1979;

Data Update History (information):
zTXmx, zB02, zM04b, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
Please refer to our use policy.

Biodiversity Database: More Options | Help

My List: View List | Edit List | Clear List