Fiddler-crabs

Guides

• Ocypodidae

  Ghost and Fiddler Crabs

  Ocypodidae is a family of semiterrestrial crabs comprising approximately 180 described species across 13 extant genera. The family includes two well-known groups: ghost crabs (genus Ocypode) and fiddler crabs (multiple genera including Leptuca and Minuca), plus the mangrove crabs of genus Ucides. Members are characterized by markedly unequal chelipeds in males, with the larger cheliped always exceeding carapace length. The family underwent substantial taxonomic revision in 2016, when the genus Uca was divided into 13 separate genera.

  crabsintertidalsemiterrestrialsexual-dimorphismacoustic-communicationburrowingfiddler-crabsghost-crabsestuarinemudflatsmangrovessandy-beachestaxonomic-revision-2016Uca-genus-splitthoracotreme-crabsOcypodoidea