Gabriel Paladino Ibáñez, Uruguay
Info
Grimothea gregaria (Fabricius, 1793)
The species was first described in 1793 by Johan Christian Fabricius from Patagonia. This jumping crab is known from the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, around the southern coast of Tasmania and from parts of South America and Tierra del Fuego. Examination of population samples from New Zealand and Tierra del Fuego proved that despite the great distance and deep ocean between these locations, they are one and the same species.
The species name "gregaria" results from the behavior of these jumping crabs in the immature phase of forming very large schools of many tens of thousands of specimens in shallow coastal waters. This also leads to mass strandings at times. Adults live on the seabed and are about 7,5 cm long and can live for 2-3 years.
They generally live on coasts where there is a mix of coastal and marine waters and therefore a sufficiently plentiful food supply. These jumping crabs can be found in shallow water as juveniles and as adults up to 1218 m.
In New Zealand waters, larvae go through five stages of larval development from midwinter to postlarval metamorphosis in spring, when they form large schools at the surface and aggregate on beaches.
Some assemblages observed from the air were in bands up to 10 m wide and 5 km long. Swarm formation varies from year to year, with little or no swarming observed every 3 to 5 years. The postlarval stage typically lasts until February, when the animals begin the benthic phase of their life cycle and settle on the seafloor.
Synonymised names
Munida gregaria (Fabricius, 1793) · unaccepted > superseded combination
The species was first described in 1793 by Johan Christian Fabricius from Patagonia. This jumping crab is known from the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, around the southern coast of Tasmania and from parts of South America and Tierra del Fuego. Examination of population samples from New Zealand and Tierra del Fuego proved that despite the great distance and deep ocean between these locations, they are one and the same species.
The species name "gregaria" results from the behavior of these jumping crabs in the immature phase of forming very large schools of many tens of thousands of specimens in shallow coastal waters. This also leads to mass strandings at times. Adults live on the seabed and are about 7,5 cm long and can live for 2-3 years.
They generally live on coasts where there is a mix of coastal and marine waters and therefore a sufficiently plentiful food supply. These jumping crabs can be found in shallow water as juveniles and as adults up to 1218 m.
In New Zealand waters, larvae go through five stages of larval development from midwinter to postlarval metamorphosis in spring, when they form large schools at the surface and aggregate on beaches.
Some assemblages observed from the air were in bands up to 10 m wide and 5 km long. Swarm formation varies from year to year, with little or no swarming observed every 3 to 5 years. The postlarval stage typically lasts until February, when the animals begin the benthic phase of their life cycle and settle on the seafloor.
Synonymised names
Munida gregaria (Fabricius, 1793) · unaccepted > superseded combination
