''Helice tridens'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of crab which lives on

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal f ...

s around the coasts of Japan and the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

Ecology

It is semi-terrestrial, returning to the sea to

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

. The species appears to be adversely affected by the presence of

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight o ...

s (''Procyon lotor''), an invasive

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

. ''H. tridens'' has a

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...

requirement which lies between those of two other estuarine crabs in Japan, '' Helicana japonica'' and '' Chiromantes dehaani''. Smaller individuals shelter in

burrow An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of s ...

s in reed marshes, apparently in order to avoid

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

; this may also be the reason for the

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum l ...

of larger individuals to

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons' ...

s in summer, when the crabs exceed their

carrying capacity The carrying capacity of an environment is the maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by that specific environment, given the food, habitat, water, and other resources available. The carrying capacity is defined as t ...

Taxonomy

''Helice tridens'' was first described by

Wilhem de Haan Wilhem de Haan (7 February 1801 in Amsterdam – 15 April 1855 in Leiden) was a Dutch zoologist. He specialised in the study of insects and crustaceans, and was the first keeper of invertebrates at the Rijksmuseum in Leiden, now Naturalis. He was ...

in an 1835 volume of ''

Fauna Japonica ''Fauna Japonica'' is a series of monographs on the zoology of Japan. It was the first book written in a European language ( French) on the Japanese fauna, and published serially in five volumes between 1833 and 1850. The full title is . Based ...

'', as ''Ocypode tridens''. The former subspecies ''H. t. wuana'' and ''H. t. sheni'' are now recognised as a separate species, '' Helicana wuana''.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5704964 Grapsoidea Crustaceans of Japan Arthropods of Korea Crustaceans described in 1835 Taxa named by Wilhem de Haan Korean seafood