''Jacforus cavatus'' is a species of crab in the

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

''Jacforus'' in the family

Xanthidae Xanthidae is a family of crabs known as gorilla crabs, mud crabs, pebble crabs or rubble crabs. Xanthid crabs are often brightly coloured and are highly poisonous, containing toxins which are not destroyed by cooking and for which no antidote i ...

Description

''Jacforus'' is a small crab, with a

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the und ...

around long and wide.

Distribution

''Jacforus cavatus'' has a wide distribution in the tropical

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, ranging from

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

to Australia, Japan and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

Taxonomy

''J. cavatus'' was first described by

Mary J. Rathbun Mary Jane Rathbun (June 11, 1860 – April 4, 1943) was an American zoologist who specialized in crustaceans. She worked at the Smithsonian Institution from 1884 until her death. She described more than a thousand new species and subspecies and ...

in 1907 as ''Cycloxanthus cavatus''. It was described again by

Charles Howard Edmondson Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

in 1925 as ''Euxanthus minutus'', and again by Edmondson in 1931 as ''Megametope sulcatus'', both of which are junior subjective (heterotypic) synonyms. The affinites of Rathbun's species with other genera have also been unclear; its apparent affinities with the genus ''

Medaeus ''Medaeus'' is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species: *''Medaeus aztec'' Davie, 1997 *''Medaeus danielita'' Mendoza & Ng, 2010 *''Medaeus elegans'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1867 *''Medaeus grandis'' Davie, 1993 *'' ...

'' are superficial. When Danièle Guinot split the genus ''

Cycloxanthops ''Cycloxanthops'' is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species: * ''Cycloxanthops bocki'' Garth, 1957 * ''Cycloxanthops novemdentatus'' (Lockington, 1877) * ''Cycloxanthops occidentalis'' (A. Milne Edwards, 1868 ...

'' in 1968, creating the new genus ''

Neoxanthops ''Neoxanthops'' is a genus of crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely ...

'', ''C. cavatus'' was not explicitly placed in either genus. A new genus, ''Jacforus'', was erected in 2003, commemorating

Jacques Forest Jacques Forest (14 June 1920 – 16 February 2012) was a French carcinologist. Biography Born in Créteil on 14 June 1920, Jacques Forest grew up in Maubeuge. He served in the army for a year during the Second World War, and went on to study a ...

, and containing only ''J. cavatus''.

References

External links

''Jacforus cavatus''
Marine Invertebrates of Kalaupapa National Historical Park {{Taxonbar, from1=Q15922397, from2=Q6110689 Xanthoidea Crustaceans described in 1907 Monotypic crustacean genera