Looking
like rubble
Crabs have a myriad of ways to hide from potential predators. Many small
species of leucosiid crabs resemble coral rubble and can be extremely
difficult to find. But there are some that not only look like rubble,
but have an odd leaf-like shape that seemed to be out of place in normal
coral rubble. In the mid-1990s, a Singapore researcher and French scientist
found that the strange New Caledonian leucosiid, Tlos petraeus
had a habit of hiding among dead pieces of the coralline algae Halimeda.
It seems that this and many leucosiids were mimiking dead pieces of
Halimeda – which can sometimes be so common that large
parts of the seabed are covered by them! In Vanuatu, we have found many
species with this strange habit, some of which are clearly new to science.
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Locality:
Vanuatu, Santo, Central Segond Channel, NE Belchif Point
Method:
Hand picked by a scuba-diver
Scientist:
Prof. dr. Peter K.L. Ng
Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, Singapore
National University of Singapore
Specialist in Crabs |
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