Ashtoret lunaris

Scientific Name:-

Ashtoret lunaris

Common Name:-

Common Moon Crab

Malayalam Name:-

Naadan Chandra Njandu

Category:-

Crabs

Status:-

Not evaluated

Description:-

Body rather circular, with a pair of long spikes on the sides. Surface of carapace minutely granular and provided with six mid-dorsal tubercles, mid-postero-lateral tubercle of carapace present. Colours beige to yellow with little maroon dots evenly sprinkled on the body surface, sometimes highlighting the six bumps. Pincers short, sturdy, held against the body to form a somewhat box-like shape. All walking legs end in paddle-shaped tips and used to skim along the sea bottom and also like spades to rapidly burrow into the sand. Some may have large dark blotches on the paddles, with smaller dark spots on the legs. Males of both species can be easily separated on account of the oblique mid-palmar ridge, strongly milled dactylar ridge and unicarinate carpus of fourth pereiopod in M. victor (vs. mid-palmar ridge parallel with lower margin, finely milled dactylar ridge and bicarinate carpus in A. lunaris).

Threats:-

Not recorded

Remark:-

Bijukumar et al. (2007) reported this species for the first time from Kerala coast.

Habitat:-

Muddy, Sandy and Coastal

Synonyms:-

Cancer lunaris Forskål, 1775
Matuta banksii Leach, 1817

References:-

Biju Kumar, A., M. Sushil Kumar., S.M. Raffi and S. Ajmal Khan (2007). Diversity of brachyuran crabs associated with trawl by-catch in Kerala coast, India. Ind.J. Fis. 54 (3): 283-290.
Galil B.S. and Clark, P.F. (1994). A revision of the genus Matuta Weber, 1795 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Calappidae). Zoologische Verhandelingen Leiden, 294: 1–55.
Ng, Peter K. L. and Daniele Guinot and Peter J. F. Davie, 2008. Systema Brachyurorum: Part 1. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Supplement No. 17, 31 Jan 2008. 286 pp
WoRMS (2014). Ashtoret lunaris (Forskål, 1775). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=107310 on 2014-10-02

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