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Panopeus
mud crabs
Panopeus is a genus of mud crabs in the family Panopeidae, distributed primarily in intertidal and estuarine environments of the Western Atlantic. Species within this genus exhibit sexual size dimorphism, with males typically larger than females, and show specialized habitat use patterns including vertical stratification within reef structures. Some species demonstrate extreme male-biased sexual size dimorphism driven by sexual antagonistic coevolution and coercive mating systems. Members of this genus are ecosystem engineers in mangrove and estuarine habitats, influencing sediment structure and energy flow.
Brachyura Panopeidae mud-crab intertidal estuarine oyster-reef sexual-dimorphism habitat-partitioning Western-Atlantic mangrove ecosystem-engineer
Petrolisthes armatus
Green Porcelain Crab
Petrolisthes armatus, commonly known as the green porcelain crab, is a small porcellanid crab native to the southwestern Atlantic, particularly Brazil. The species has established invasive populations along the southeastern United States coast, where densities can exceed 30,000 individuals per square meter. Genetic studies confirm it as a single monophyletic species with exceptional geographic range spanning the Atlantic and eastern Pacific. It is frequently parasitized by the bopyrid isopod Aporobopyrus curtatus, which causes parasitic castration.
invasive-species filter-feeder parasite-host intertidal porcelain-crab oyster-reef symbiosis planktonic-larvae visual-ecology crustacean decapod anomura porcellanidae southwestern-atlantic eastern-pacific southeastern-united-states bopyrid-parasite Aporobopyrus-curtatus estuarine mangrove sponge-symbiosis gaze-stabilization achromatic-vision larval-transport oyster-bed ballast-water aquaculture monophyletic cryptic-species-complex parasitic-castration zoea megalopa pleopod spermatophore chelliped carapace granulated olive-green blue-coloration Farol-Island Brazil Georgia South-Carolina Florida Panama Costa-Rica Ecuador Peru Baja-California Caribbean Gulf-of-Mexico West-Indies Ascension-Island Bermuda Bahamas West-Africa rock-rubble soft-sediment shallow-subtidal lower-intertidal density-30000-per-square-meter 6-8-mm 0.5-g orange-spot four-segmented-cheliped antennae-outside-eyes vestigial-fourth-leg-pair feathery-mouthparts zooplankton scavenger pheromone-settlement-cue 3-mm-sexual-maturity 17%-parasite-prevalence branchial-chamber-parasite synchronous-growth-parasite-host castration visual-noise caustic-flicker polarization-sensitivity optomotor-assay tidal-creek spectrally-narrow-environment mitochondrial-DNA genetic-variability exceptional-range pre-Canal-Panama 1859 1930s-Florida lineage warm-temperate-Atlantic species-complex half-crab squat-lobster-relative true-crab false-crab Decapoda Malacostraca Arthropoda Crustacea Gibbes-1850 Porcellana-armata green-porcelain-crab Petrolisthes-armatus