Leptuca terpsichores

Leptuca terpsichores
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. terpsichores
Binomial name
	Leptuca terpsichores; (Crane, 1941)
Synonyms
	Uca terpsichores (basionym)

Leptuca terpsichores, commonly known as the dancing fiddler crab, is a species of fiddler crab native to the eastern Pacific coast of the Americas, from Nicaragua to Peru.^[1]

Taxonomy

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.^[2]^[3] At one time, the species was considered a subspecies of L. musica.^[1]

Description

The adult carapace is approximately 7 mm wide.^[1] The carapace is grey in color and males may exhibit yellow dorsal markings.^[1]

Similar species

Leptuca terpsichores is smaller than L. musica.^[1] L. terpsichores has smaller tubercles on the outer manus and fewer tubercles along the anterior carapace.^[1] The gape in the major cheliped is less serrate and the gape in the minor cheliped is slightly narrower.^[1]

Habitat

The species can be found on bay shores with muddy sand substrate.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Crane, Jocelyn (1975). Fiddler Crabs of the World. Ocypodidae: Genus Uca (PDF). New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press.
^ 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.
^ 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.

[Crane1975-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Crane, Jocelyn (1975). Fiddler Crabs of the World. Ocypodidae: Genus Uca (PDF). New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press.

[Shih2016-2] 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.

[Rosenberg2019-3] 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.

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