General Information

COMMON NAMES: a fiddler-crab, Mangrove Fiddler Crab TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kō‘iti Raukura (RR), Koro‘iti (AK) GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE se.Asia - w.Pacific - Cooks - Tuamotu - Marquesas COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group - common; N.Group - absent?; Marine, near-shore; mud-flats, especially near stream-outlets SIGNIFICANCE LIST: oil production; KEY FEATURES: Carapace 13x20mm (LxW), and fiddle to 34mm long. CARAPACE wide between the eyes (a "wide-fronted fiddler-crab"). COLOUR dark blue w/wo a few large pale blotches. MALE "fiddle" (=chela or cheliped) scarlet to red-orange base with paler fingers; a sharp-edged short-triangular depression at base of the fixed-finger (=pollex). SIMILAR SPECIES: See under Uca tetragonon.

Cook Islands Distribution

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

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-			-		-

Uca crassipes (Adams & White, 1848)
SYNONYMS: Gelasimus crassipes; Uca crassipes; Uca gaimardi; Uca latreillei; Uca splendidus; Uca chlorophthalmus crassipes [In the subspecies system U. c. chlorophthalmus is from e.Africa and throughout Indian Ocean; U. c. crassipes is from Malaysia and the Pacific to the Tuamotu.]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; CRUSTACEA; MALACOSTRACA; EUMALACOSTRACA; Eucarida; Decapoda; Reptantia; Brachyura; Brachygnatha; Brachyrhyncha; OCYPODIDAE

GENERAL NOTE: Uca crassipes, like other fiddlers, feed outside their burrows when the tide uncovers the substrate during daylight hours. Waving displays, combat, and courtship usually occur for 2 or 3 days of around Spring Tide. The large females usually build chimneys at this time and males approach the chimneys (sometimes waving). After courtship mating occurs on the ground, on the chimney or in the burrow. Male combat is ritualised and does not involve injury.

Vouchers:
Cooks: 042. Aitutaki: field-specimen, NBSAP School, 12/2000, ID GM.

References:
Special Reference: Forest & Guinot 1961 [Fr.]

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM06a, zD02, zupD06a

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