Guinotia dentata

Guinotia dentata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Pseudothelphusidae
Genus: Guinotia
Species: G. dentata
Binomial name
Guinotia dentata
(Latreille, 1825)
Synonyms [1]
  • Pseudothelphusa tenuipes Pocock, 1889
  • Thelphusa dentata Latreille, 1825

Guinotia dentata, commonly known as cyrique,[2] is a West Indian species of freshwater crab in the family Pseudothelphusidae.[3] They have few predators.[4] They are easily caught[2] and thus are used locally as a food source.[5]

Description

Guinotia dentata is almost oval in shape and the teeth on its carapace are very small. It is a yellow-brown colour and its shell can grow to 65 millimetres (2.6 in) long; it is about 3/5 long as wide.[2][5] The eyestalks are yellow whilst the corneas are black,[2] but they are probably best identifiable by their large yellow claws with straight sharply pointed fingers.[6]

The species sometimes has almost an entire dorsal surface of carapace yellow with submarginal brown.[7]

Its shell has a cervical meandering curve which does not quite touch the edge of the shell. About 24 cubicles are well defined. The forehead is low, excavated and depressed and of uniform height.[8] Its pereiopods are fairly average and its chelae are without prominent, swollen protuberance on outer surface near the base of the fingers.[7]

Distribution and habitat

Guinotia dentata in Dominica

The species is native mostly to Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint Lucia.[9] Its distribution is fragmented because of its presence on multiple islands, but it is plentiful in the regions it inhabits.[9]

Guinotia dentata lives mostly in streams (particularly shady ones)[4] and ponds and may sometimes be seen on land, though it avoids areas that are excessively dry.[3] It has not yet been observed in estuaries.[4] It lives in streams and rives in the highlands of the Lesser Antilles, not including the Virgin Islands.[9][10] They are known to hide under roots of trees, rocks and rotten wood where they dig shallow burrows which are oval in shape.[5][11] They have been spotted at altitudes of 2,850 ft (870 m).[2] They certainly inhabit the Boeri Lake and may inhabit Freshwater Lake.[12]

The largest threat to the species is habitat destruction, and a protected area has been established on Dominica to conserve them.[9]

Reproduction

Reproduction takes place entirely in fresh water, and breeding takes place all year round; there does not seem to be a breeding season.[4] The young undergo direct development, hatching as juveniles, without passing through any larval stages. The females carry the eggs and protect the young[5] who stay with their mother for a period after hatching.[4]

Diet

Guinotia dentata is a mainly carnivorous (though partially herbivorous)[5] animal which sometimes also acts as a scavenger or detritivore.[4] It has been observed to eat minnows, prawns, and aquatic algae-like vegetation.[13]

Taxonomic history

Guinotia dentata was first described in 1825 by Pierre André Latreille.[1] The specific epithet dentata means "toothed" in Latin.[4] In 1965, Gerhard Pretzmann erected the genus Guinotia (a tribute to Danièle Guinot) and made Latreille's species the type species.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 Peter Davie (2009). "Guinotia dentata (Latreille, 1825)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kristy Venable (2004). "Photographic Guide to the Freshwater and Terrestrial Crabs of Dominica" (PDF). Texas A&M University. p. 16. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Richard G. Hartnoll (1988). "Biology of the land crabs: an introduction". In Warren W. Burggren & Brian Robert McMahon. Evolution, systematics, and geographical distribution. Cambridge University Press. pp. 6–54. ISBN 978-0-521-30690-4.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Anne Prouzet & Pierre Noël (2009). "Guinotia dentata (Latreille, 1825)" (in French). DORIS. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Hans Hillewaert. "Guinotia dentata". BioLib. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  6. ↑ Miculka (2009), p. 5.
  7. 1 2 Chace & Hobbs (1969), pp. 156-160.
  8. ↑ Gilberto Rodriguez (1982). Les crabes d'eau douce d'Amérique. Famille des Pseudothelphusidae (PDF). Faune tropicale (in French) XXII. Paris: ORSTOM. pp. 188–192. ISBN 978-2-7099-0513-8.
  9. 1 2 3 4 N. Cumberlidge (2008). "Guinotia dentata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  10. ↑ Chace & Hobbs (1969), p. 19.
  11. ↑ Miculka (2009), p. 7.
  12. ↑ Chace & Hobbs (1969), p. 42.
  13. ↑ Miculka (2009), p. 13.
  14. ↑ Gerhard Pretzmann (1965). "Vorläufiger Bericht über die Familie Pseudothelphusidae" [Preliminary report on the family Pseudothelphusidae] (PDF). Sitzungsberichte der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien (in German) 1: 1–11.
Bibliography
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