Leptuca spinicarpa | |
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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. spinicarpa
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Binomial name | |
Leptuca spinicarpa (Rathbun, 1900)
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Synonyms | |
Uca spinicarpa (basionym) |
Leptuca spinicarpa, commonly known as the spiny-wristed fiddler crab or the spined fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to coastal habitats along the Gulf of Mexico from northwestern Florida to Mexico.[1][2]
Previously a member of the genus Uca, the species was transferred in 2016 to the genus Leptuca when Leptuca was promoted from subgenus to genus level.[3][4]
At one time, L. spinicarpa was reduced to a subspecies of L. speciosa,[5] but this is no longer accepted due to morphological, genetic, and behavioral differences.[6]
The carapace can be up to 23mm wide and is often green in color in the frontal area.[7] Strongly raised tuberculate ridges are present on the palm of the male's major cheliped; a large tubercle is present on the carpus.[6][7]
The species lives in fresh to brackish water on intertidal banks and marshes with firm clay, clay-sand, or clay-mud substratum.[7]