Ecomorphology of main food processing structures of four ocypodid species: how do they relate to the crabs’ trophic habits?

Author:

LIM SHIRLEY S. L.ORCID,YONG ADELINE Y. P.ORCID

Abstract

The spoon-tipped (ST) setae coverage and their abundance on the second maxillipeds as well as the morphology of the urocardiac and zygocardiac ossicles from the gastric mills of the four ocypodid species, viz., Austruca annulipes (H. Milne Edwards, 1837), Gelasimus vocans (Linnaeus), 1758, two typical deposit-feeding fiddler crabs, Petruca panamensis (Stimpson, 1859), an atypical herbivorous-cum-‘sediment swallower’ fiddler crab, and Ocypode ceratophthalmus (Pallas, 1772), an omnivorous ghost crab, were described and compared in relation to their respective trophic habits. In the three fiddler crabs, ST setae coverage and abundance generally correlated with their habitats’ sediment grain size characteristics—more ST setae in A. annulipes (‘sandy-habitat crab’) and less in G. vocans (‘muddy-habitat crab’). ST setae were absent in O. ceratophthalmus, which suggests that these setae were not needed for food processing. In the two deposit-feeding fiddler crabs, the median tooth of the urocardiac ossicle had tooth-like transverse ridges to grind against the dentition of the lateral teeth of the zygocardiac ossicles. The median tooth in P. panamensis, however, had transverse ridges that resemble that of a vascular plant eater as well as some posterior tooth-like transverse ridges, typically found in deposit feeders; and twice the number of incisors than the other three ocypodids, for cutting up ingested algal pieces. The omnivorous O. ceratopthalmus had four raised transverse ridges on the round blunt median tooth as well as large premolars and molars on the zygocardiac lateral teeth for maceration of animal tissue. Hence, ST setae abundance as well as the grinding surfaces and dentition of the two gastric mill ossicles are indicative of the habitat adaptations and trophic habits respectively.  

Publisher

Magnolia Press

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3