Polybius henslowii

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Polybius henslowii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family:
Polybiidae
Genus: Polybius
Leach, 1820
Species:
P. henslowii
Binomial name
Polybius henslowii
Leach, 1820

Polybius henslowii is a species of crab, the only species in the genus Polybius. It is a capable swimmer and feeds in open water in the north-east Atlantic Ocean and western Mediterranean Sea.

Description

The

pereiopods (walking legs) carry claws, and the remaining four pairs are flattened with fringed edges.[1] This contrasts with other members of the family Portunidae, which have only the last pair of legs adapted for swimming.[2] P. henslowii is red-brown on the upper surface, and paler beneath.[1]

Distribution

Polybius is found in the north-east Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles to Morocco, and in the western Mediterranean Sea. Very abundant swarms have been found along the coasts off Galicia (Spain)[3] and off Portugal.[4] Rare specimens have been caught in the North Sea east of Shetland, and in the Skagerrak.[1] Its range has expanded into the southern North Sea, possibly as a result of climate change.[5] It can be found on sandy or gravelly sediments at depths of up to 500 metres (1,600 ft).[2]

Ecology and behaviour

Polybius henslowii is a capable swimmer, and can be found swimming near the ocean surface, where it feeds on a mixture of

polychaetes and detritus [6] and are influenced by terrestrial organic matter coming from the rivers.[7]

In

loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) off North Africa feed almost exclusively on P. henslowii.[9]

Taxonomy

Polybius henslowii was

Necora and Macropipus.[10] The genus name "Polybius" may be in reference to the Greek historian Polybius; the specific epithet henslowii honours John Stevens Henslow, Professor of Botany at Cambridge University,[11] who had collected the specimens used by Leach from a herring fisherman in North Devon in 1817.[12] This was the first of several species that were named in Henslow's honour.[12] Common names for the species include "sardine swimming crab"[11] and "Henslow's swimming crab".[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Polybius henslowii". Zooplankton and Micronekton of the North Sea. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Andrew Hosie (2009). "Polybius henslowii. Henslow's swimming crab". Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  3. S2CID 73665288
    .
  4. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2005.03.012
    .
  5. PMID 20554562
    .
  6. ^
    doi:10.1016/j.csr.2008.08.008
    .
  7. doi:10.1016/j.seares.2011.09.003
    .
  8. ^
    doi:10.1006/jmsc.1997.0249
    .
  9. ^ O. Ocaña, A. G. de los Rios y los Huertos & A. Brito (2005). "The crab Polybius henslowii (Decapoda: Brachyura) as a main resource in the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) diet from North Africa". Revista de la Academia Canaria de Ciencias. 17 (4): 103–116.
  10. ^ a b Peter Davie & Michael Türkay (2012). "Polybius". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-0-412-71060-5
    .
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0-521-59146-1
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polybius_henslowii&oldid=1184044511"