Ocypode ryderi

Ocypode ryderi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Family:	Ocypodidae
Genus:	Ocypode
Species:	O. ryderi
Binomial name
	Ocypode ryderi; Kingsley, 1880

Ocypode ryderi, also known as the pink ghost crab,[1][2] is a species of ghost crab found on the east coast of Africa from the Eastern Cape Region to Kenya.[3]

Identification

Body is pale pink with distinctive mauve/purple joints to the legs; square carapace and long, robust legs. The eyes are on long stalks but lack the extended horns found in Ocypode ceratophthalma and some other Ocypode species. The larger of the two nippers has a granular stridulating organ on the palm which consists of a single row of granules. Adults are on average 35 millimetres (1.4 in) in length.[2]

Biology

Abundant on tropical beaches that are exposed to the sea. They burrow deeply by day and emerge at night to feed on deposited carrion and small animals.[2]

Related species

Ocypode madagascariensis is almost identical but it is sandy coloured and its legs do not have mauve joints.[2]

References

Lynne Matthews (2007). The Coastal Guide of South Africa. Johannesburg, South Africa: Jacana Media. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-77009-248-8.
G. M. Branch; M. L. Branch; C. L. Griffiths; L. E. Buckley (2007). Two Oceans: a Guide to the Marine Life of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers. ISBN 1-77007-633-6.
L. F. Jackson, M. J. Smale and P. F. Berry (1991). "Ghost crabs of the genus Ocypode (Decapoda, Brachyura, Ocypodidae) of the east coast of South Africa". Crustaceana. 61 (3): 280–286. doi:10.1163/156854091X00164. JSTOR 20104707.

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[1] Lynne Matthews (2007). The Coastal Guide of South Africa. Johannesburg, South Africa: Jacana Media. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-77009-248-8.

[Branch-2] G. M. Branch; M. L. Branch; C. L. Griffiths; L. E. Buckley (2007). Two Oceans: a Guide to the Marine Life of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers. ISBN 1-77007-633-6.

[3] L. F. Jackson, M. J. Smale and P. F. Berry (1991). "Ghost crabs of the genus Ocypode (Decapoda, Brachyura, Ocypodidae) of the east coast of South Africa". Crustaceana. 61 (3): 280–286. doi:10.1163/156854091X00164. JSTOR 20104707.