Biology:Guinotia
Guinotia is a monotypic genus of freshwater crabs in the family Pseudothelphusidae,[1] containing only the species Guinotia dentata,[2] commonly known as cyrique.[3] They have few predators.[4] Found in the West Indies, they are easily caught[3] and thus are used locally as a food source.[5]
Description
Guinotia dentata is almost oval in shape and the teeth on its carapace are very small. It is a yellow-brown colour and its shell can grow to 65 millimetres (2.6 in) long; it is about 3/5 long as wide.[3][5] The eyestalks are yellow whilst the corneas are black,[3] but they are probably best identifiable by their large yellow claws with straight sharply pointed fingers.[6]
The species sometimes has almost an entire dorsal surface of carapace yellow with submarginal brown.[7]
Its shell has a cervical meandering curve which does not quite touch the edge of the shell. About 24 cubicles are well defined. The forehead is low, excavated and depressed and of uniform height.[8] Its pereiopods are fairly average and its chelae are without prominent, swollen protuberance on outer surface near the base of the fingers.[7]
Distribution and habitat
The species is native mostly to Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint Lucia.[9] Its distribution is fragmented because of its presence on multiple islands, but it is plentiful in the regions it inhabits.[9]
Guinotia dentata lives mostly in streams (particularly shady ones)[4] and ponds and may sometimes be seen on land, though it avoids areas that are excessively dry.[1] It has not yet been observed in estuaries.[4] It lives in streams and rivers in the highlands of the Lesser Antilles, not including the Virgin Islands.[9][10] They are known to hide under roots of trees, rocks and rotten wood where they dig shallow burrows which are oval in shape.[5][11] They have been spotted at altitudes of 2,850 ft (870 m).[3] They certainly inhabit the Boeri Lake and may inhabit Freshwater Lake.[12]
The largest threat to the species is habitat destruction, and a protected area has been established on Dominica to conserve them.[9]
Reproduction
Reproduction takes place entirely in fresh water, and breeding takes place all year round; there does not seem to be a breeding season.[4] The young undergo direct development, hatching as juveniles, without passing through any larval stages. The females carry the eggs and protect the young[5] who stay with their mother for a period after hatching.[4]
Diet
Guinotia dentata is a mainly carnivorous (though partially herbivorous)[5] animal which sometimes also acts as a scavenger or detritivore.[4] It has been observed to eat minnows, prawns, and aquatic algae-like vegetation.[13]
Taxonomic history
Guinotia dentata was first described in 1825 by Pierre André Latreille.[2] The specific epithet dentata means "toothed" in Latin.[4] In 1965, Gerhard Pretzmann erected the genus Guinotia (a tribute to Danièle Guinot) and made Latreille's species the type species.[14]
The following species were previously considered members of Guinotia:[2]
- Guinotia pestai Pretzmann, 1965 (now Eudaniela pestai)
- Guinotia rodriguezi Pretzmann, 1968 (now Microthelphusa rodriguezi)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Richard G. Hartnoll (1988). "Biology of the land crabs: an introduction". in Warren W. Burggren. Evolution, systematics, and geographical distribution. Cambridge University Press. pp. 6–54. ISBN 978-0-521-30690-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=RR09AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA39.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedWoRMS - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Kristy Venable (2004). "Photographic Guide to the Freshwater and Terrestrial Crabs of Dominica". Texas A&M University. p. 16. http://dominica.tamu.edu/student%20projects/Dominica%20Projects%20pdf%20copy/Venable_Kristy.pdf.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Anne Prouzet; Pierre Noël (2009). "Guinotia dentata (Latreille, 1825)" (in French). DORIS. http://doris.ffessm.fr/fiche2.asp?fiche_numero=1197.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Hans Hillewaert. "Guinotia dentata". BioLib. https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id815091/.
- ↑ Miculka (2009), p. 5.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chace & Hobbs (1969), pp. 156–160.
- ↑ Gilberto Rodriguez (1982) (in French). Les crabes d'eau douce d'Amérique. Famille des Pseudothelphusidae. Faune tropicale. XXII. Paris: ORSTOM. pp. 188–192. ISBN 978-2-7099-0513-8. http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/11760/11760-001.pdf. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedIUCN - ↑ Chace & Hobbs (1969), p. 19.
- ↑ Miculka (2009), p. 7.
- ↑ Chace & Hobbs (1969), p. 42.
- ↑ Miculka (2009), p. 13.
- ↑ Gerhard Pretzmann (1965). "Vorläufiger Bericht über die Familie Pseudothelphusidae" (in German). Sitzungsberichte der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1: 1–11. http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/27647/27647.pdf. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- Bibliography
- Brian Miculka (2009). "Burrowing habits, habitat selections, and behaviors of four common Dominican land crabs; Guinotia dentata, Gecarcinus lateralis, Gecarcinus ruricola, and Cardisoma guanhumi". Texas A&M University. p. 16. http://dominica.tamu.edu/student%20projects/Dominica%20Projects%20pdf%20copy/Miculka_Bryan.pdf.
- Fenner A. Chace Jr.; Horton H. Hobbs (1969). "The freshwater and terrestrial decapod crustaceans of the West Indies with special reference to Dominica". Bulletin of the United States National Museum 292: 1–258. doi:10.5479/si.03629236.292.1. http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/11003/11003-001.pdf.
Wikidata ☰ Q5616606 entry
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