Leptuca subcylindrica

Leptuca subcylindrica
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Suborder:	Pleocyemata
Infraorder:	Brachyura
Family:	Ocypodidae
Subfamily:	Gelasiminae
Tribe:	Minucini
Genus:	Leptuca
Species:	L. subcylindrica
Binomial name
Leptuca subcylindrica (Stimpson, 1859)
Synonyms
List Gelasimus subcylindricus Stimpson, 1859 Uca subcylindrica Rathbun, 1900

Leptuca subcylindrica, commonly known as the Laguna Madre fiddler crab or the puffed fiddler crab, is a sparsely-studied species of fiddler crab native to southern Texas and northeastern Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico.[1][2]

Before 2016, the species was known as Uca subcylindrica. In 2016, the subgenus Leptuca was promoted to the genus level.[3][4]

Description

The carapace is tan to light orange in color and can be up to 25 mm wide.[2] The species epithet is derived from its cylindrical carapace. The male lacks a tuberculate ridge on the palm of the major cheliped.[1][2] Its gonopod is unlike other fiddlers crab in that the distal part of the inner process is divided and appears fringed.[1]

Habitat

The species lives in fresh to brackish water.[2] Some habitats include mud flats, algal beds, rivers and creeks.

References

1. Crane, Jocelyn (1975). Fiddler Crabs of the World. Ocypodidae: Genus Uca (PDF). New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press.
2. Bowling, Brenda. "Laguna Madre fiddler crab". Identification Guide to Marine Organisms of Texas. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
3. Shih, Hsi-Te; Ng, Peter K. L.; Davie, Peter J. F.; Schubart, Christoph D.; et al. (2016). "Systematics of the family Ocypodidae Rafinesque, 1815 (Crustacea: Brachyura), based on phylogenetic relationships, with a reorganization of subfamily rankings and a review of the taxonomic status of Uca Leach, 1814, sensu lato and its subgenera" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 64: 139–175.
4. Rosenberg, Michael S. (2019). "A fresh look at the biodiversity lexicon for fiddler crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae). Part 1: Taxonomy". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 39 (6): 729–738. doi:10.1093/jcbiol/ruz057.