Cardisoma

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]

Cardisoma
Cardisoma carnifex
Scientific classification
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Cardisoma

Latreille, 1828
Type species
Cardisoma guanhumi
Latreille, 1828

Species

The genus Cardisoma comprises these four species:[1]

ImageNameCommon nameDistribution
Cardisoma armatum Herklots, 1851(African) rainbow crab, (Nigerian) moon crab or patriot crabeast Atlantic coastal regions
Cardisoma carnifex (Herbst, 1794)red-claw crabIndo-Pacific coastal regions
Cardisoma crassum Smith, 1870mouthless crabeast Pacific coastal regions
Cardisoma guanhumi Latreille, 1825blue land crab or giant land crabwest Atlantic coastal regions

References

  1. 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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