''Geosesarma malayanum'' is a species of small red

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

found in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. It is famous for its relationship with

pitcher plants Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of pitcher plant are considered to be "true" pitcher plants and are formed by specialized ...

; as such, it is classified as a

nepenthephile ''Nepenthes'' infauna are the organisms that inhabit the pitchers of ''Nepenthes'' plants. These include fly and midge larvae, spiders, mites, ants, and even a species of crab, '' Geosesarma malayanum''. The most common and conspicuous p ...

. ''G. malayanum'' is known to visit ''

Nepenthes ampullaria ''Nepenthes ampullaria'' (; Latin ''ampulla'' meaning "flask") is a very distinctive and widespread species of tropical pitcher plant, present in Borneo, the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, and Thailand.McPhe ...

'' plants and raid the pitchers of their contents. It uses its claws to crush and consume the drowned prey. However, the crabs are reportedly trapped by pitchers in

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

occasionally.

References

Sesarmidae Freshwater crustaceans of Asia Nepenthes infauna Crustaceans described in 1986 Taxa named by Peter Kee Lin Ng {{Eubrachyura-stub