Ovalipes ocellatus, commonly known as the lady crab,[a] oscellated crab,[b] or calico crab,[6][c] is a species of crab in the family Ovalipidae.[2][8]
| Ovalipes ocellatus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Ovalipidae |
| Genus: | Ovalipes |
| Species: | O. ocellatus
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| Binomial name | |
| Ovalipes ocellatus | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
Description
editThe carapace of O. ocellatus is slightly wider than long, at 8.9 centimetres (3.5 in) wide,[6] and 7.5 cm (3.0 in) long.[9] The carapace is yellow-grey[9] or light purplish,[6] with "leopardlike clusters of purple dots".[9] It exhibits a limited iridescence as a form of signalling.[10]
Taxonomy
editOvalipes ocellatus is commonly known as the lady crab,[a] oscellated crab,[b] or calico crab.[6] It was first described in 1799 by naturalist Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst, who placed it into the genus Cancer.[1][2] In 1898, carcinologist Mary Jane Rathbun moved the species to her new genus Ovalipes.[11] O. ocellatus is part of a distinct group of Ovalipes which also includes O. floridanus, O. iridescens, O. molleri, and O. stephensoni.[12][10][d] O. ocellatus is almost identical to O. floridanus, which lives in the Gulf of Mexico, but can be separated from the sympatric O. stephensoni by purple spots which O. stephensoni lacks.[9] The following cladogram based on morphology shows the relationship between O. catharus and the other extant species of Ovalipes:[10][e]
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Distribution
editThe distribution of Ovalipes ocellatus extends along North America's Atlantic coast from Canada to Georgia.[9] O. ocellatus is "probably the only Ovalipes species common north of Virginia", being replaced by Ovalipes stephensoni to the south.[14]
Diet
editThe diet of Ovalipes ocellatus consists predominantly of bivalves, crustaceans including other crabs, polychaetes, cephalopods, and gastropods.[15][16] It rarely feeds on fish.[15]
Life cycle
editOvalipes ocellatus has five zoeal (larval) stages, lasting a total of 18 days at 25 °C (77 °F) and a salinity of 30‰, and 26 days at 20 °C (68 °F) and 30‰.[17]
Ecology
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Ovalipes ocellatus is nocturnal and often buries itself in the sand.[6][9] It has been described as "vicious" and "the crab most likely to pinch a wader's toes".[9]
Notes
edit- ^ a b Sometimes "northern lady crab"[3][4]
- ^ a b Sometimes "ocellate lady crab"[5]
- ^ The nickname "calico crab" is shared with Hepatus epheliticus.[7]
- ^ This group – one of two – is distinguished from the rest of Ovalipes by features such as iridescence, lack of a tooth at the top of its orbit, and a carina ending in a spine on the outer wrist.[13]
- ^ Ovalipes itself sits within the monogeneric family Ovalipidae.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b Herbst 1799, pp. 61–62.
- ^ a b c Ahyong, Shane T. (30 April 2022). "Ovalipes ocellatus (Herbst, 1799)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ Bernier, Locke & Hanson 2009, p. 105.
- ^ Stehlik 1993, p. 723.
- ^ Ruppert & Fox 1988, pp. 257–258.
- ^ a b c d e f Pollock 1998, p. 264.
- ^ Voss 2002, p. 98.
- ^ a b Poore & Ahyong 2023, pp. 695–696.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kaplan, Eugene H. (1999). "Lady crab Ovalipes ocellatus". In Roger Tory Peterson (ed.). A Field Guide to Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores: Cape Hatteras to the Gulf Coast, Florida, and the Caribbean. Peterson Field Guides (2nd ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-395-97516-9.
- ^ a b c Parker, Mckenzie & Ahyong 1998, p. 866.
- ^ Rathbun 1898, p. 597.
- ^ Stephenson & Rees 1968, pp. 214, 245.
- ^ Stephenson & Rees 1968, pp. 213, 247–248.
- ^ Johnson, William S.; Allen, Dennis M. (2005). "Swimming (Portunid) crabs". Zooplankton of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts: a guide to their identification and ecology. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 220–222. ISBN 978-0-8018-8019-3.
- ^ a b Stehlik 1993, pp. 727–729.
- ^ Ropes 1989, p. 201.
- ^ Bullard, Stephan Gregory (2003). "Ovalipes ocellatus (Herbst, 1799)". Larvae of anomuran and brachyuran crabs of North Carolina: a guide to the described larval stages of anomuran (families Porcellanidae, Albuneidae, and Hippidae) and brachyuran crabs of North Carolina, U.S.A. Volume 1 of Crustaceana monographs. Brill. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-90-04-12841-5.
Bibliography
edit- Herbst, Johann Friedrich Wilhelm (1799). Versuch einer Naturgeschichte der Krabben und Krebse &c. &c [Attempt at a Natural History of Crabs and Crustaceans &c. &c.] (in German) (First ed.). Berlin and Stralsund: Gottlieb August Lange – via the Internet Archive.
- Rathbun, Mary Jane (1898). "The Brachyura collected by the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross on the voyage from Norfolk, Virginia, to San Francisco, California, 1887-1888". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 21 (1162): 567–616. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.21-1162.567.
- Voss, Gilbert L. (2002) [1980]. Seashore Life of Florida and the Caribbean. Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-42068-X.
- Ruppert, Edward; Fox, Richard (1988). "Arthropoda". A Guide to Common Shallow-Water Invertebrates of the Southeastern Atlantic Coast. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-534-5.
- Ropes, John W. (1989). "The Food Habits of Five Crab Species at Pettaquamscutt River, Rhode Island" (PDF). Fishery Bulletin. 87 (1): 197–204. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
- Stehlik, Linda L. (October 1993). "Diets of the Brachyuran Crabs Cancer Irroratus, C. Borealis, and Ovalipes Ocellatus in the New York Bight". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 13 (4): 723–735. doi:10.1163/193724093X00291. JSTOR 1549103.
- Parker, Andrew R.; Mckenzie, David R.; Ahyong, Shane T. (22 May 1998). "A unique form of light reflector and the evolution of signalling in Ovalipes (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae)". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 265 (1399): 861–867. doi:10.1098/rspb.1998.0371. PMC 1689053.
- Pollock, Leland W. (1998). A Practical Guide to the Marine Animals of Northeastern North America. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-2399-6.
- Poore, Gary C.B.; Ahyong, Shane T. (2023). Marine Decapod Crustacea: A Guide to Families and Genera of the World. CRC Press. doi:10.1071/9781486311798. ISBN 978-1-4863-1178-1. LCCN 2021388782.
External links
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Media related to Ovalipes ocellatus at Wikimedia Commons- 3D model from the Smithsonian Institution
