展開選單

Environmental Educational Resources

Uca splendida

  • Uca splendida(Male)
  • Uca splendida(Female)

Uca splendida

Physical Features:

The body of this crab is dark blue, light blue or grayish white in color, with several horizontal black bands. The front shield of some female crabs is orange-red, while the shield of smaller crabs is mostly creamy yellow or light green. The major chelipeds are carmine or orange, and its two fingers are pale pink or white. The eye stalks are light red or orange. Unlike Thick-legged Fiddler Crabs (Uca crassipes) the front edge of the shield of the former is prominent and curves toward the dorsal edge, while its eye stalks are reddish and the shield mostly blue, with black horizontal bands.

Food:

This crab uses its minor chelipeds to scrape the topsoil of the sandy beach, and filters algae, microorganisms and organic matter in the soil through its mouth, with the residue placed on the beach to form feeding pellets.