Planktonic-larvae

Guides

• Emerita analoga

  Pacific sand crab, Pacific mole crab, coldwater mole crab

  Emerita analoga is a small sand-burrowing decapod crustacean inhabiting exposed sandy beaches along temperate Pacific coasts of North and South America. The species exhibits strong sexual dimorphism, with females nearly twice the size of males. It is a suspension feeder that captures plankton using specialized antennae extended into retreating waves. The species has been widely studied as an indicator organism for coastal pollution and harmful algal blooms.

  decapodcrustaceanintertidalsuspension-feederindicator-speciessexual-dimorphismplanktonic-larvaeswash-zonePacific-coastbait-fishery

• Hippoidea

  mole crabs, sand crabs, sand fleas

  Hippoidea is a superfamily of decapod crustaceans within the infraorder Anomura, commonly known as mole crabs or sand crabs. These highly specialized burrowers inhabit sandy beaches worldwide, with the exception of polar regions. Members of this superfamily are characterized by their inability to walk; instead, they use modified thoracic legs for digging into sand. The superfamily comprises three families: Hippidae, Albuneidae, and Blepharipodidae. Hippoidea is considered the most basal lineage within Anomura, with the other three superfamilies (Paguroidea, Galatheoidea, and Lomisoidea) being more closely related to each other than to Hippoidea.

  burrowingsand-dwellingintertidalplanktonic-larvaeconvergent-evolution

• 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-speciesfilter-feederparasite-hostintertidalporcelain-craboyster-reefsymbiosisplanktonic-larvaevisual-ecologycrustaceandecapodanomuraporcellanidaesouthwestern-atlanticeastern-pacificsoutheastern-united-statesbopyrid-parasiteAporobopyrus-curtatusestuarinemangrovesponge-symbiosisgaze-stabilizationachromatic-visionlarval-transportoyster-bedballast-wateraquaculturemonophyleticcryptic-species-complexparasitic-castrationzoeamegalopapleopodspermatophorechellipedcarapacegranulatedolive-greenblue-colorationFarol-IslandBrazilGeorgiaSouth-CarolinaFloridaPanamaCosta-RicaEcuadorPeruBaja-CaliforniaCaribbeanGulf-of-MexicoWest-IndiesAscension-IslandBermudaBahamasWest-Africarock-rubblesoft-sedimentshallow-subtidallower-intertidaldensity-30000-per-square-meter6-8-mm0.5-gorange-spotfour-segmented-chelipedantennae-outside-eyesvestigial-fourth-leg-pairfeathery-mouthpartszooplanktonscavengerpheromone-settlement-cue3-mm-sexual-maturity17%-parasite-prevalencebranchial-chamber-parasitesynchronous-growth-parasite-hostcastrationvisual-noisecaustic-flickerpolarization-sensitivityoptomotor-assaytidal-creekspectrally-narrow-environmentmitochondrial-DNAgenetic-variabilityexceptional-rangepre-Canal-Panama18591930s-Floridalineagewarm-temperate-Atlanticspecies-complexhalf-crabsquat-lobster-relativetrue-crabfalse-crabDecapodaMalacostracaArthropodaCrustaceaGibbes-1850Porcellana-armatagreen-porcelain-crabPetrolisthes-armatus