Zoological Studies

Vol. 61, 2022

(update: 2022.11.16)

Special issue: Systematics and Biogeography of Fiddler Crabs (articles 64–71). Editors: Hsi-Te Shih and Benny K. K. Chan

First Zoeal Stage of 15 Species of Fiddler Crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Ocypodidae) from Taiwan

Ying-Chen Zhang1,* and Hsi-Te Shih1,2,*
doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-71

1Department of Life Science, National Chung Hsing University, 250 Kuo Kuang Road, Taichung 402, Taiwan. E-mail: elsa199604@gmail.com (Zhang)
2Research Center for Global Change Biology, National Chung Hsing University, 250 Kuo Kuang Road, Taichung 402, Taiwan. *Correspondence: E-mail: htshih@dragon.nchu.edu.tw (Shih)

Received 1 January 2022 / Accepted 13 June 2022
Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan

Fiddler crabs (Brachyura: Ocypodidae: Gelasiminae) in Taiwan consist of 5 genera and 15 species, but knowledge of their larval development is limited to just 3 species, namely Austruca lactea, Tubuca arcuata, and Xeruca formosensis. In our study, the morphology of the first zoeal stage (zoea I) of the 15 species is described and compared to previous studies. The results show that the characters of zoea I can be used
to distinguish the five studied genera and most species (except three groups, “Gelasimus borealis, G. jocelynae and G. vocans”, “Paraleptuca crassipes and P. splendida” and “Tubuca arcuata, T. coarctata and T. paradussumieri”). The lateral spines on the carapace in zoea I are suggested to be a unique character in the Ocypodinae because they are absent in the Gelasiminae and Ucidinae, which supports the current
systematics of the Ocypodidae.

Key words: Larva, Morphology, Systematics, Austruca, Gelasimus, Paraleptuca, Tubuca, Xeruca.

Citation: Zhang YC, Shih HT. 2022. First zoeal stage of 15 species of fiddler crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Ocypodidae) from Taiwan. Zool Stud 61:71. doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-71.