Oedignathus Explained

Oedignathus inermis is a species of king crab found off the Pacific coasts of the United States and Canada, from California[1] to Alaska,[2] and disjunctly around the coasts of Japan.[3] It is the only species in the genus Oedignathus, and is sometimes called the granular claw crab, paxillose crab,[4] or tuberculate nestling lithode crab.[5]

Characteristics

Oedignathus is distinguished from other king crabs in the subfamily Hapalogastrinae by the presence of numerous tubercles on the only slightly flattened chelipeds and legs, and by the paucity of spines, setae; other genera have flattened chelipeds covered in setae, and legs with several large spines.[6]

Ecology

O. inermis lives in pairs under the purplish coralline algae which encrust the rocks around the low tide mark, and may be found at depths of 0-.[3] When in the littoral zone, O. inermis is associated with mussel beds, but it spends more time in the sublittoral zone.[7] Larvae are released in January and February, at a similar time to other hermit crabs, perhaps to coincide with seasonal blooms of plankton for the larvae to feed on.[8]

O. inermis is preyed upon by birds such as the American black oystercatcher.[9]

Notes and References

  1. MacGintie . G. E. . 1937 . Notes on the natural history of several marine crustacea . . The University of Notre Dame . 18 . 6 . 1031–1037 . 10.2307/2420601 . 2420601.
  2. Web site: Oedignathus inermis (Stimpson, 1860) . . 2007-08-16 .
  3. Petryashev . V. V. . January 2005 . Biogeographical division of the North Pacific sublittoral and upper bathyal zones by the fauna of Mysidacea and Anomura (Crustacea) . . 31 . Supplement 1 . S9–S26 . 10.1007/s11179-006-0011-7 . 1769205.
  4. Web site: Stevens . Bradley G. . 8 October 2021 . A Checklist of Alaskan Crabs . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  5. Web site: British Columbia Estuary Mapping System . . March 1999 . 2007-08-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070225104905/http://ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/risc/pubs/coastal/estuary/estuary-28.htm . 2007-02-25 . dead .
  6. Web site: Cowles . Dave . 2006 . Key to Family Lithodidae . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930165046/http://rosario.wwc.edu/inverts/Arthropoda/Crustacea/Malacostraca/Eumalacostraca/Eucarida/Decapoda/Anomura/Family_Lithodidae/Lithodidae_Key.html . 2007-09-30 . 2007-08-16 . Walla Walla University.
  7. Morrell . Stephen H. . Huber . Harriet R. . Lewis . T. James . Ainley . David G. . 1979 . Feeding ecology of black oystercatchers on South Farallon Island, California . . 2 . 185–186 . the University of New Mexico.
  8. Wada . Satoshi . Kitaoka . Hironao . Goshima . Seiji . May 2000 . Reproduction of the hermit crab Pagurus lanuginosus and comparison of reproductive traits among sympatric species . . 20 . 3 . 474–478 . 10.1163/20021975-99990062 . 1549387 . 198123819 . free.
  9. Wootton . J. Timothy . February 1997 . Estimates and tests of per capita interaction strength: diet, abundance, and impact of intertidally foraging birds . dead . . 67 . 1 . 45–64 . 10.1890/0012-9615(1997)067[0045:EATOPC]2.0.CO;2 . 86330770 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100611020953/http://pondside.uchicago.edu/ecol-evol/faculty/Wootton/PDFs/97WoottonEM.pdf . 2010-06-11 . 2010-06-12.

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