Uca forcipata Fiddler Crab Crustacea Decapoda Brachyura Ocypodidae

Forceps Fiddler Crab Uca forcipata Crustacea Decapoda Brachyura Ocypodidae, carapace width of 20-25 mm, greater chela length (not entire limb) 30-50 mm.
Family: Ocypodidae.
Common name: Forceps Fiddler Crab.
Syn. Tubuca forcipata, Gelasimus forcipatus.

Uca is a genus of decapod crustaceans belonging to Ocypodidae family. These animals are commonly known as crabs violinists due to the particular size of one of the claws, which is considerably more developed than the other and that is rhythmically stirred at top and bottom in the course of social interactions and in pairs. Before there is a mating, the female has to choose in a group of males the one with the largest claw, because it is the healthiest health. In females the claws are of identical size. The fiddler crabs are found along the sandy coasts of the seas or in the mouths of tropical rivers. The fiddler crabs build their nests in the sand, between the levels of high and low tide, when the sea retreats and go out in search of food flocking the entire beach. After collecting sand and mud, they meticulously check with appendages around the mouth in order to separate the lighter organic fraction, which is their nourishment; the mineral particles are spit out instead in the form of pellets and deposited to the sides of the body in long geometric files.