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Calappa (crab)
Encyclopedia
Calappa is a genus
of crab
s known commonly as box crabs, or shame-faced crabs. The name box crab comes from their distinctly bulky carapace
, and the name shame-faced is from anthropomorphising
the way their chelae
(claws) fold in in front of their face, as if hiding it in shame.
A further 18 species are known only from fossils.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s known commonly as box crabs, or shame-faced crabs. The name box crab comes from their distinctly bulky carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal 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 underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
, and the name shame-faced is from anthropomorphising
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
the way their chelae
Chela (organ)
A chela is a pincer-like organ terminating certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Greek through New Latin . The plural form is chelae. Legs bearing a chela are called chelipeds. Another name is claw because most chelae are curved and have a sharp point like a claw....
(claws) fold in in front of their face, as if hiding it in shame.
Species
There are 41 extant species in the genus:- Calappa acutispina Lai, Chan & Ng, 2006
- Calappa africana Lai & Ng, 2006
- Calappa bicornis Miers, 1884
- Calappa bilineata Ng, Lai & Aungtonya, 2002
- Calappa calappa (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Calappa capellonis Laurie, 1906
- Calappa cinerea Holthuis, 1958
- Calappa clypeata Borradaile, 1903
- Calappa conifera Galil, 1997
- Calappa convexa Saussure, 1853
- Calappa dumortieri Guinot, 1962
- Calappa flammea (Herbst, 1794)
- Calappa galloides Stimpson, 1859
- Calappa gallus (Herbst, 1803)
- Calappa granulata (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Calappa guerini De Brito Capello, 1871
- Calappa hepaticaCalappa hepaticaCalappa hepatica is a common benthic crab of tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the Red Sea. It is also known as the box crab, shame-faced crab or the tortoise crab, the last two names referring to the animal's appearance, with its two chelipeds being used to...
(Linnaeus, 1758) - Calappa japonica Ortmann, 1892
- Calappa liaoi Ng, 2002
- Calappa lophos (Herbst, 1782)
- Calappa monilicanthus Latreille, 1812
- Calappa nitida Galil, 1997
- Calappa ocellata Holthuis, 1958
- Calappa ocularia Holthuis, 1958
- Calappa pelii Herklots, 1851
- Calappa philargius (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Calappa pokipoki Ng, 2000
- Calappa pustulosa Alcock, 1896
- Calappa quadrimaculata Takeda & Shikatani, 1990
- Calappa rosea Jarocki, 1825
- Calappa rubroguttata Herklots, 1851
- Calappa sebastieni Galil, 1997
- Calappa springeri Rathbun, 1931
- Calappa sulcata Rathbun, 1898
- Calappa tortugae Rathbun, 1933
- Calappa torulosa Galil, 1997
- Calappa tuberculata (Fabricius, 1793)
- Calappa tuerkayana Pastore, 1995
- Calappa undulata Dai & Yang, 1991
- Calappa woodmasoni Alcock, 1896
- Calappa yamasitae Sakai, 1980
A further 18 species are known only from fossils.