Freshwater crabs

Code OX519999

Crabs are decapod crustaceans in which the abdomen is reduced and tightly folded under the cephalothorax. The rostrum is reduced and the tail fan is absent.

Sundatelphusidae are squarish crabs with the lateral margin of the carapace approximately straight and the lateral margins without prominent teeth. Adult specimens may measure up to 5 cms across the widest part of the carapace.

Sundatelphusidae (freshwater crabs) are distinguished from Hymenosomatidae (small spider crabs) by their straight anterior margin, and from Grapsidae (shore crabs) by lack of lateral teeth on the carapace.

These true freshwater crabs occur across a wide area of northern Australia where they can be found in creeks, swamps, river pools and dams. During dry periods they burrow deeply into the banks and close the entrance to the burrow with a plug of earth. The eggs hatch not as larvae but as minature crabs which are carried for a few days by the female.

References:

Horwitz, P. (1995) A Preliminary Key to the species of Decapoda (Crustacea: Malacostraca) found in Australian Inland Waters. Co-operative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology Identification Guide No. 5., Albury, NSW.

Horwitz, P., Knott, B. and Williams, W.D. (1995) A Preliminary Key to the Malacostracan Families (Crustacea) found in Australian Inland Waters. Co-operative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology Identification Guide No. 4., Albury, NSW.