Echinoecus pentagonus
| Echinoecus pentagonus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Superfamily: | Pilumnoidea |
| Family: | Pilumnidae |
| Genus: | Echinoecus |
| Species: | E. pentagonus |
| Binomial name | |
| Echinoecus pentagonus (A. Milne-Edwards, 1879) [1] | |
The "sea urchin crab" Echinoecus pentagonus is a species of crab in the family Pilumnidae found from the Red Sea and East Africa to French Polynesia and the Hawaiian Islands.[2] This crab is a parasite that lives in the rectum of a sea urchin. In Hawaii, it chooses only Echinothrix calamaris, leaving few of these urchins unpopulated. Its curved and pointed carapace reaches only 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) in width.[3]
Taxonomic synonyms of E. pentagonus include:[4]
- Echinoecus klunzingeri Miyake, 1939
- Echinoecus pentagonus Rathbun, 1894
- Echinoecus rathbunae Miyake, 1939
- Eumedon convictor Bouvier & Seurat, 1906
- Eumedon pentagonus A. Milne-Edwards, 1879
- Eumedonus petiti Gravier, 1922
- Liomedon pentagonus Klunzinger, 1906
References
- ↑ Sammy De Grave, N. Dean Pentcheff, Shane T. Ahyong et al. (2009). "A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Suppl. 21: 138.
- ↑ "Echinoecus pentagonus (Milne-Edwards, 1879)". SeaLifeBase. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ↑ John P. Hoover (2007). Hawaiian Sea Creatures. Mutual Publishing. ISBN 1-56647-220-2.
- ↑ P. Davie (2010). "Echinoecus pentagonus". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved December 22, 2010.