Metopograpsus messor

Metopograpsus messor is a species of grapsid crab that lives in mangroves from East Africa to Fiji.

Metopograpsus messor
Metopograpsus messor
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Order:
Decapoda
Family:
Grapsidae
Genus:
Metopograpsus
Species:
M. messor
Binomial name
Metopograpsus messor
(Forsskål, 1775)
Synonyms [1][2]
  • Cancer messor Forsskål, 1775
  • Eurycarcinus messor (Forsskål, 1775)
  • Grapsus gaimardi Audouin, 1826
  • Grapsus messor H. Milne-Edwards, 1837
  • Grapsus aethiopicus Hilgendorf, 1869

Description

It grows up to 30 millimetres (1.2 in) wide.[3] The carapace and legs are mottled brownish green, while the claws are brownish red.[4]

Distribution

The distribution of M. messor extends from East Africa, along the coast of the Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and at least as far east as Fiji.[5] Knowledge of its distribution has been clouded by confusion between M. messor and M. thukuhar, which can only be told apart by detailed examination,[5] but there are reports of M. messor as far east as the Hawaiian Islands.

Ecology

M. messor lives in mangroves (including Avicennia marina and Sonneratia alba), as well as on rocky shores.[4] It lives under rotting wood, and is capable of climbing trees.[4]

Taxonomic history

Metopograpsus messor was first described under the name Cancer messor by Peter Forsskål in 1775, in his Descriptiones Animalium, Avium, Amphibiorum, Piscium, Insectorum, Vermium, based on material he collected at Suez.[6]

References
  1. WoRMS (2009). "Metopograpsus messor (Forskål, 1775)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  2. ijving "Metopograpsus messor" Check |url= value (help). Crabs of Japan. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  3. Robby Kossmann (1877). "Familia: Grapsidae". Zoologische ergebnisse einer im auftrage der Königlichen Academie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin ausgeführten Reise in die Küstengebiete des Rothen Meeres (in German). Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann. pp. 56–62.
  4. David Gillikin & Anouk Verheyden (January 5, 2000). "Metopograpsus messor (Forskål, 1775)". A field guide to Kenyan mangroves. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  5. "Metopograpsus messor Messor's Shore-Crab". Cook Islands Biodiversity Database. The Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  6. Peter Forsskål (1775). "Cancer messor". Descriptiones Animalium, Avium, Amphibiorum, Piscium, Insectorum, Vermium, quae in itinere orientali observavit Petrus Forskål (in Latin). Copenhagen: C. Niebuhr. pp. 1–19, i–xxxiv, 1–164.
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