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''Leptograpsus variegatus'', known as the purple rock crab, is a marine large-eyed crab of the
Individuals are large and may have a carapace that reaches up to 50mm in width. The crab has an overall purple colouration with a variable amount of white patterning when mature. Juveniles are a bluish grey colour with black patterning. The carapace is shaped somewhat like a square and eyes are relatively short. The body is smooth overall with no hairs.
When immature, the eggs are about 0.36mm in diameter and have a very dark brown colour. When the eggs are about to hatch, they are roughly 0.44x0.42mm and the eggs are light brown.
The first zoea of the crab are about 1.31mm in length.
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Grapsidae
The Grapsidae are a family (biology), family of crabs known variously as marsh crabs, shore crabs, or talon crabs. The family has not been confirmed to form a monophyletic group and some Taxon, taxa may belong in other families. They are found al ...
, found in southern subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
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 ...
Oceans. It grows to around shell width. It is the only species in the genus ''Leptograpsus''.
Taxonomy
''Leptograpsus variegatus'' was first described in 1793 as ''Cancer. variegatus''. In 1803, ''C. variegatus'' was moved to the ''Grapsus'' genus and became ''Grapsus variegatus''. In 1818, 1842 and 1852, ''L. variegatus'' was described again as ''Grapsus personatus'', ''Grapsus strigilatus'' and ''Grapsus planifrons''. In 1853,Henri Milne-Edwards
Henri Milne-Edwards (23 October 1800 – 29 July 1885) was a French zoologist.
Biography
Henri Milne-Edwards was the 27th child of William Edwards, an English planter and colonel of the militia in Jamaica and Elisabeth Vaux, a Frenchwoman. Hen ...
erected the ''Leptograpsus'' genus and used ''G. variegatus'' as the type taxon.MILNE EDWARDS, H. 1853. Memoire sur Ia famille des ocypodiens. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Zoologie (3), 20: 165–228, pis 6–11. In his publication, Milne-Edwards recognized ''G. personatus'', ''G. strigilatus and G. planifrons'' to be synonyms of ''L. variegatus''. Milne-Edwards also described ''Leptograpsus ansoni'', ''Leptograpsus gayi'' and ''Leptograpsus verreauxi,'' however these would later also be recognized as synonyms of ''L. variegatus.''
Description
Individuals are large and may have a carapace that reaches up to 50mm in width. The crab has an overall purple colouration with a variable amount of white patterning when mature. Juveniles are a bluish grey colour with black patterning. The carapace is shaped somewhat like a square and eyes are relatively short. The body is smooth overall with no hairs.
When immature, the eggs are about 0.36mm in diameter and have a very dark brown colour. When the eggs are about to hatch, they are roughly 0.44x0.42mm and the eggs are light brown.
The first zoea of the crab are about 1.31mm in length.
Distribution/habitat
''Leptograpsus variegatus'' is known to occur inAustralia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
(from western Australia to southern Australia), South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
(from Peru to Chile), New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and numerous islands in the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. The crab lives in upper intertidal rocky zones and is often spotted running along exposed rock, hiding in cracks or under boulders.
Life history
Adult females are known to carry eggs only in December. The females will incubate the eggs for roughly six weeks.Prey
''Leptograpsus variegatus'' is anomnivore
An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize t ...
and will eat a broad range of plant and animal life. While the crab may eat algae growing on rocks (such as '' Corallina'' and ''Ulva lactuca
''Ulva lactuca'', also known by the common name sea lettuce, is an edible green alga in the family Ulvaceae. It is the type species of the genus ''Ulva''. A synonym is ''U. fenestrata'', referring to its "windowed" or "holed" appearance. De ...
''), they have also been observed feeding on barnacle
Barnacles are arthropods of the subclass (taxonomy), subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacean, Crustacea. They are related to crabs and lobsters, with similar Nauplius (larva), nauplius larvae. Barnacles are exclusively marine invertebra ...
s and limpet
Limpets are a group of aquatic snails with a conical gastropod shell, shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. This general category of conical shell is known as "patelliform" (dish-shaped). Existing within the class Gastropoda, ...
s. The crab captures limpets by quickly placing their chelae
A chela ()also called a claw, nipper, or pinceris a pincer-shaped organ at the end of certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Ancient Greek , through Neo-Latin '. The plural form is chelae. Legs bearing a chela are called chelipeds ...
under the limpets shell when it begins to move and then flips it over. Notably, there is also a single observation of this species preying upon a Raukawa gecko, which is native to New Zealand.Bell, Trent & Bauer, A.. (2017). Predation on a free-ranging Raukawa gecko (Woodworthia maculata) by a purple rock crab (Leptograpsus variegatus). ''BioGecko''. 20 – 25.
References
Further reading
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6528127 Marine crustaceans of New Zealand Crabs of the Pacific Ocean Grapsidae Monotypic decapod genera Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards