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Vol. 38 No. 2, 1999
Morphology of Uca
formosensis Rathbun, 1921 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Ocypodidae), an
Endemic Fiddler Crab from Taiwan, with Notes on its Ecology
Hsi-Te
Shih1,*, Hin-Kiu Mok1, Hsueh-Wen Chang2
and Sin-Che Lee3
1Institute
of Marine Biology, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
804
2Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun
Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 804
3Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica, Nankang,
Taipei, Taiwan 115
Hsi-Te
Shih, Hin-Kiu Mok, Hsueh-Wen Chang and Sin-Che Lee (1999) Uca formosensis Rathbun, 1921, is
an endemic fiddler crab species from Taiwan. The taxonomy of this
species has long been constrained by the paucity of study material.
Crane (1975) placed U. formosensis
as a member of the subgenus Thalassuca,
but important characters, like its handedness, presence of enlarged
teeth on the fingers of the female’s minor chela, structures of the
anterolateral margin, suborbital margin, orbital floor, degree of
arching of the carapace, and habitat preference, suggest that this
classification is incorrect. It is suggested that U. formosensis should be excluded
from the subgenus Thalassuca.
In this study, a historic review is provided of the species and notes
on its distribution, variation of morphology (chela types), live
coloration, and taxonomy are included.
Key words: Handedness,
Chela type, Coloration, Distribution, Study history.
*Correspondence: Tel: 886-7-5252000 ext. 3614. Fax:
886-7-5253614. E-mail: shihht@gate.sinica.edu.tw
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