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Crustaceans of Zihuatanejo

SUBPHYLUM CRUSTACEA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Crustaceans (Subphylum Crustacea)

-Typical Crustaceans (Superclass Multicrustacea)

-Malacostracans (Class Malacostraca)

-Decapods, Isopods, and Allies (Subclass Eumalacostraca)

-Decapods and Krill (Superorder Eucarida)

-Decapods (Order Decapoda)

-Crabs, Lobsters, Shrimps, and Allies (Suborder Pleocyemata)

-True Crabs (Infraorder Brachyura)​

-Eubrachyuran Crabs (Zoosection Eubrachyura)

-Thoracotrematan Crabs (Zoosubsection Thoracotremata)

-Land, Shore, and Marsh Crabs (Superfamily Grapsoidea)

-​Land Crabs (Family Gecarcinidae)

-Genus Cardisoma

-Mouthless Crab (Cardisoma crassum)


The Mouthless Crab (Cardisoma crassum) is a terrestrial crab living near wet areas such as the margins of mangroves, transitional forests, river banks, and beaches but spawns in estuaries and the ocean. It is native to the tropical Eastern Pacific, from the Gulf of California to Peru. It has a purplish-blue shell, red legs and white main pincer. It diest consists of Mangrove leaves, other plants, and dead animals. It is preyed upon by a variety of birds, reptiles and mammals.

Mouthless Crab

Cardisoma crassum

Diet

  • Omnivorous, feeding mainly on fallen leaves, fruits, seeds, mangrove litter, algae, fungi, and other plant material.

  • Also scavenges carrion and consumes insects, worms, snails, small crabs, and other invertebrates.

  • An important decomposer that helps recycle nutrients in coastal ecosystems.

Range

  • Native to the tropical eastern Pacific, from the Gulf of California and the Pacific coast of Mexico south through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru.

  • Widespread along the Pacific coast of Mexico, including the Zihuatanejo region of Guerrero.

Habitat

  • Inhabits mangrove forests, estuaries, coastal lagoons, river mouths, marshes, and nearby tropical dry forests.

  • Lives in deep burrows dug into soft soils, often near the upper edge of the tidal zone where the burrow remains moist year-round.

  • Adults are primarily terrestrial but migrate toward coastal waters to reproduce, releasing larvae into the ocean.

Size

  • Carapace width: Up to 13 cm (5.1 in)

  • Leg span: Up to 30 cm (12 in)

  • Weight: Up to 700 g (1.5 lb)

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