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Zosimus aeneus

‘Angatea (MG)

Purple-and-orange Xanthid-Crab

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Purple-and-orange Xanthid-Crab

TRADITIONAL NAMES: ‘Angatea (MG), Tūtūau (MK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Japan - GBReef - Cooks - Tuamotu - Hawai‘i

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine, near-shore

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food; Poisonous to eat - serious

KEY FEATURES: Carapace 60x95mm. Carapace is bright brown dissected with mauve and cream, and the smooth lobules are outlined in white. The carapace is covered with smooth, lobules, which are small and numerous posteriorly. The anteriolateral border is crested with 3 rounded lobes and one tooth (posteriorly). Chelipeds equal, rough surfaced with strong brown fingers with hollowed tips. The walking legs are crested above and finged with long hairs. [mainly after Edmondson 1962]

Cook Islands Distribution

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

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
	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

Zosimus aeneus (Linnaeus, 1758)
SYNONYMS: Zosymus aeneus

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

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: These crabs are toxic. On the 16 October 1995 the Cook Islands News carried a story from Fiji about the cooking and eating of three of these crabs: two people died within three hours, one was in intensive care, and eight were treated and sent home. All noticed, but ignored, a numbness in the tongue when they ate the crab meat. In 1876 William Wyatt Gill recorded an accidental death by eating this cooked crab, and a suicide which occurred while the wife was absent for only one hour.Residents on Mangaia recognise Xanthias tetradon and Etisus species as being more seriously and consistently toxic then the present species, which is said to be poisonous to some people only.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Cooks: Photo GMcC C/026, 1980s. Mangaia: specimen, College, 9/2000, ID GMcC. Manihiki: Bullivant74.

References:
Special Reference: Forest & Guinot 1961 [Fr.]; Edmondson 1962

Data Update History (information):
zB02, 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.
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