Cardisoma

Cardisoma
Cardisoma carnifex
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Gecarcinidae
Genus: Cardisoma
Latreille, 1828
Type species
Cardisoma guanhumi
Latreille, 1828

Cardisoma is a genus of large land crabs. Three species formerly placed in this genus are now placed in Discoplax.[1] The four species that remain in Cardisoma are found in warm coastal regions where they live in burrows. Young individuals are often very colourful with a purple-blue carapace and orange-red legs (leading to a level of popularity in the pet trade), but as they grow older the colours tend to fade, and females may be duller than males. Although less extreme than in fiddler crabs, one claw is usually considerably larger than the other. They are omnivores, but primarily feed on plant material.[2]

Species

The genus Cardisoma comprises these four species:[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Peter K. L. Ng, Danièle Guinot & Peter J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 17: 1–286. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06.
  2. ↑ Donald B. Bright & Charles L. Hogue (1972). "A synopsis of burrowing land crabs of the world and list of their arthropod symbionts and burrow associates" (PDF). Contributions in Science. 220: 1–58. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-09.


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