Boxer crab
Encyclopedia
Lybia is a genus
of small crab
s, including Lybia tesselata and Lybia edmondsoni. They are notable for their mutualism with sea anemone
s, which grow on their claws for defense. In return, the anemones find new places to eat and mate. Boxer crabs use at least three different species of anemones, including Bundeopsis spp. and Triactis producta. The bonding with the anemone is not required for survival, however, and boxer crabs have frequently been known to live without them, sometimes substituting other organisms such as sponges and coral
s.
The genus Lybia contains the following species:
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 small 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, including Lybia tesselata and Lybia edmondsoni. They are notable for their mutualism with sea anemone
Sea anemone
Sea anemones are a group of water-dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Zoantharia. Anthozoa often have large polyps that allow for digestion of larger...
s, which grow on their claws for defense. In return, the anemones find new places to eat and mate. Boxer crabs use at least three different species of anemones, including Bundeopsis spp. and Triactis producta. The bonding with the anemone is not required for survival, however, and boxer crabs have frequently been known to live without them, sometimes substituting other organisms such as sponges and coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
s.
The genus Lybia contains the following species:
- Lybia australiensis (Ward, 1933)
- Lybia caestifera (Alcock, 1898)
- Lybia denticulata Nobili, 1905
- Lybia edmondsoniLybia edmondsoniLybia edmondsoni is a species of crab in the family Xanthidae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, although the similar Lybia tessellata is found throughout the Indo-Pacific.-Description:...
Takeda & Miyake, 1970 - Lybia hatagumoana Sakai, 1961
- Lybia leptochelis (Zehntner, 1894)
- Lybia plumosa Barnard, 1947
- Lybia pugil (Alcock, 1898)
- Lybia tessellata (Latreille in Milbert, 1812)
- Lybia tutelina C. G. S. Tan & Ng, 1994
External links
- Boxer Crab, Lybia tesselata. Aquarium World