Homolidae
| Homolidae | |
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| Paromola cuvieri | |
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| Family: | Homolidae De Haan, 1839
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The family Homolidae, known as carrier crabs[1] or porter crabs,[2] contains 14 genera of marine crabs. They mostly live on the continental slope and continental shelf, and are rarely encountered.[3] Members of the Homolidae have their fifth pereiopods (last pair of walking legs) in a sub-dorsal position, which allows them to hold objects in place over the rear half of the carapace.[3] The objects carried include sponges, black corals and gorgonians, and this behaviour may be a defence mechanism against predators.[3] Some species have been observed carrying living sea urchins in a symbiotic relationship which allows them to benefit from the protection of the urchin's dangerous spikes.[4][5][6][7]
Genera
A total of 14 genera are currently recognised in the family:[8]
- Dagnaudus Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1995
- Gordonopsis Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1995
- Homola Leach, 1816
- Homolax Alcock, 1899
- Homolochunia Doflein, 1904
- Homologenus A. Milne-Edwards, in Henderson, 1888
- Homolomannia Ihle, 1912
- Ihlopsis Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1995
- Lamoha Ng, 1998
- Latreillopsis Henderson, 1888
- Moloha Barnard, 1947
- Paromola Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1891
- Paromolopsis Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1891
- Yaldwynopsis Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1995
See also
- Homola barbata, in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
- Paromola cuvieri, in the East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea
References
- ^ Family Homolidae - carrier crabs at sealifebase.org
- ^ Family Homolidae (Porter crabs) at the Marine Species Identification Portal
- ^ a b c Mary K. Wicksten (1985). "Carrying behavior in the family Homolidae (Decapoda: Brachyura)". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 5 (3): 476–479. doi:10.2307/1547919. JSTOR 1547919.
- ^ "Relationships on the Reef". Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2011-04-26.
- ^ Carrier Crab video Archived 2011-02-20 at the Wayback Machine, National Geographic
- ^ "Carrier Crab". video.nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
- ^ Bates, Mary; 10, National Geographic PUBLISHED June. "Natural Bling: 6 Amazing Animals That Decorate Themselves". National Geographic News. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
{{cite web}}:|last2=has numeric name (help) - ^ Peter Davie & Michael Türkay (2011). "Homolidae". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
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