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Information about Christmas Island Red Crab

Christmas Island red crab

Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Subphylum:Crustacea
Class:Malacostraca
Order:Decapoda
Suborder:Pleocyemata
Infraorder:Brachyura
Superfamily:Grapsoidea
Family:Gecarcinidae
Genus:Gecarcoidea
Species:G. natalis
Binomial name
Gecarcoidea natalis
Pocock, 1888


The Christmas Island red crab (Gecarcoidea natalis) is a species of terrestrial crab endemic to Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean. Although restricted to a relatively small area, it is estimated that up to 120 million red crabs may live there, making it the most abundant of the 14 terrestrial crab species on Christmas Island [1]. Christmas Island red crabs eat mostly fallen leaves and flowers, but will occasionally eat other animals, including other red crabs (see cannibalism), if the opportunity arises.

Enlarge picture
A Christmas Island red crab


The carapace is up to 116 mm long, rounded, and encloses the gills. The claws are usually of equal size, unless one becomes injured or detached, in which case the limb will regenerate. During that time, it will be the smaller of the two. The male crabs are generally larger than the females, while adult females have a much broader abdomen and usually have smaller claws. The broader abdomen of the female Christmas Island red crab only becomes apparent in the third year of growth. They live in burrows, in order to shelter from the sun. Since they still breathe through gills, the possibility of drying out is a great danger for them.

Christmas Island red crabs are famous for their annual migration to the sea in order to lay their eggs in the ocean. During the migration, the crabs cover the routes to the coast so densely that they can be seen from the air. Volunteers shovel the crabs off the roads and, although no harm is intended, some of the countless millions of crabs inevitably get injured.

Early inhabitants of Christmas Island hardly ever mentioned these crabs. It is possible that their famous large population size was caused by the extinction of Maclear's Rat, Rattus macleari in 1903. It is possible that these endemic rats kept the crab's population in control.[1]

An exploding population of the Yellow crazy ant, an invasive species accidentally introduced to Christmas Island and Australia from Africa, is believed to have killed 15-20 million red crabs in recent years.

References

1. ^ Flannery, Tim & Schouten, Peter (2001). A Gap in Nature: Discovering the World's Extinct Animals. Atlantic Monthly Press, New York. ISBN 0-87113-797-6. 

External links

Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Arthropoda
Latreille, 1829

Subphyla and Classes
  • Subphylum Trilobitomorpha
  • Trilobita - trilobites (extinct)
  • Subphylum Chelicerata

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crustaceans (Crustacea) are a large group of arthropods, comprising approximately 52,000 described species [1], and are usually treated as a subphylum [2].
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Malacostraca
Latreille, 1802

Subclasses

Eumalacostraca
Hoplocarida
Phyllocarida
See text for orders.

The Malacostraca (Greek: "soft shell") are the largest subgroup of crustaceans and include most of the animals that non-experts
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Decapoda
Latreille, 1802

Suborders

Dendrobranchiata
Pleocyemata
See text for superfamilies.

The decapods or Decapoda are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, including many familiar groups, such as crayfish,
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Pleocyemata
Burkenroad, 1963

Infraorders
Caridea
Stenopodidea
Polychelida
Achelata
Glypheoidea
Astacidea
Thalassinidea
Anomura
Brachyura

Pleocyemata
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Brachyura
Latreille, 1802

Superfamilies
  • Section Dromiacea
  • Homolodromioidea
  • Dromioidea
  • Homoloidea

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Grapsoidea
MacLeay, 1838

Families
  • Gecarcinidae
  • Glyptograpsidae
  • Grapsidae
  • Plagusiidae
  • Sesarmidae
  • Varunidae


Grapsoidea is a superfamily of crabs.
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Gecarcinidae

Genera
  • Cardisoma
  • Discoplax
  • Epigrapsus
  • Gecarcinus
  • Gecarcoidea
  • Johngarthia


This article is about the animal.

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Gecarcoidea

Species
Gecarcoidea lalandii
Gecarcoidea natalis

Gecarcoidea is genus of terrestrial crabs. It includes the two species G. lalandii and G. natalis, the Christmas Island red crab.
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Reginald Innes Pocock F.R.S. (March 4, 1863 - August 9, 1947) was a British zoologist.

Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the fourth son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward's School, Oxford.
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species is one of the basic units of biological classification. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
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Brachyura
Latreille, 1802

Superfamilies
  • Section Dromiacea
  • Homolodromioidea
  • Dromioidea
  • Homoloidea

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Anthem
Advance Australia Fair
Royal anthem
God Save the Queen

Capital
(and largest city) Flying Fish Cove ("The Settlement")
Official languages English (de facto)
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Capital West Island
Largest village Bantam (Home Island)
Official languages English (de facto)
Government Federal constitutional monarchy
 -  Queen Elizabeth II
 -  Administrator Neil Lucas
Territory of Australia
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Earth's oceans
(World Ocean)
  • Arctic Ocean
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Indian Ocean
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Southern Ocean
This article is about the water body. For the Indian fusion music band, see Indian Ocean (band).

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leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat (laminar) and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast (chlorenchyma tissue, a type of parenchyma) to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate
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A carapace is a dorsal section of an exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups.

Crustaceans

In crustaceans, the carapace is a part of the exoskeleton that covers the cephalothorax. It is particularly well developed in lobsters and crabs.
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A gill is a respiration organ that functions for the extraction of oxygen from water and the excretion of carbon dioxide. Unlike many small aquatic animals, which can absorb oxygen through the entire surface of their bodies, more complex aquatic organisms have gills specially
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A burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, so the burrowing way of life is quite
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A gill is a respiration organ that functions for the extraction of oxygen from water and the excretion of carbon dioxide. Unlike many small aquatic animals, which can absorb oxygen through the entire surface of their bodies, more complex aquatic organisms have gills specially
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In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo.
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Earth's oceans
(World Ocean)
  • Arctic Ocean
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Indian Ocean
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Southern Ocean
An ocean (from Ωκεανός, Okeanos
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R. macleari

Binomial name
Rattus macleari
(Thomas, 1887)

The Maclear's Rat (Rattus macleari) was a large rat which lived on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1870s  1880s  1890s  - 1900s -  1910s  1920s  1930s
1900 1901 1902 - 1903 - 1904 1905 1906

Year 1903 (MCMIII
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A. gracilipes

Binomial name
Anoplolepis gracilipes
F. Smith, 1857

The yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes
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Invasive species is a phrase with many definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species (e.g. plants or animals) that adversely effect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically.
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