Chiromantes haematocheir

Chiromantes haematocheir
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Sesarmidae
Genus: Chiromantes
Species:
C. haematocheir
Binomial name
Chiromantes haematocheir
(De Haan, 1833)
Synonyms
List
  • Grapsus (Pachysoma) haematocheir De Haan, 1833
  • Holometopus haematocheir (De Haan, 1833)
  • Holometopus serenei Soh, 1978
  • Perisesarma haematocheir (De Haan, 1833)
  • Sesarma haematocheir (De Haan, 1833)
Red-clawed crab in Kanagawa, Japan

Chiromantes haematocheir, commonly known as the red-clawed crab, is a species of mudflat crab in the family Sesarmidae. It is endemic to East Asia. The crab is one of two species currently considered in the genus Chiromantes.

Description

Chiromantes haematocheir has a square carapace with a smooth surface and irregular stripes along the sides. Males have large, smooth chelae with curved claws. The color of these crabs varies throughout their development; juvenile crabs typically have a white or yellow carapace, while adults are usually crimson red.

Distribution

C. haematocheir is found across East Asia, including China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. However, in Japan the crab is absent in the central and southern islands of the Ryukyu island chain. Within this region, Chiromantes ryukyuanus is found instead.

Mountain crabs

A variety of C. haematocheir can be found in Nagano prefecture, Japan, where elevations often exceed 600 metres (2,000 ft) above sea level, and distances to the ocean can be over 80 kilometres (50 mi). This indicates that they are freshwater crabs, probably living in forest streams, if they live in water at all.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Peter K. L. Ng; Danièle Guinot & Peter J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 17: 1–286. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06.
  2. 1 2 Maenosono, Tadashi (2024). "Identification of the species of the genus Chiromantes (Sesarmidae) inhabiting Tanegashima Island, Northern Ryukyus" (PDF). Nature of Kagoshima. 51: 19–22.
  3. ↑ "Marine Species Identification Portal : Chiromantes haematocheir". Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  4. ↑ Thiel, Martin; Gutow, Lars (2025). Ecology and Conservation: Volume 10. Vol. 10. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780197768266.