Dotillidae
Encyclopedia
Dotillidae is a family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 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. It comprises 59 species, nearly half of which are in the genus Ilyoplax. The two genera Scopimera and Dotilla are collectively the sand bubbler crab
Sand Bubbler Crab
Sand bubbler crabs are crabs of the genera Scopimera and Dotilla in the family Dotillidae. They are small crabs that live on sandy beaches in the tropical Indo-Pacific; during the low tide, they form inflated sand pellets which are destroyed by the incoming high tide.-Description:Sand bubbler...

s, which leave conspicuous collections of sand pellets on sandy beaches across the tropical and sub-tropical Indo-Pacific
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...

.

Genera

Nine genera are currently recognised:
  • Dotilla
    Sand Bubbler Crab
    Sand bubbler crabs are crabs of the genera Scopimera and Dotilla in the family Dotillidae. They are small crabs that live on sandy beaches in the tropical Indo-Pacific; during the low tide, they form inflated sand pellets which are destroyed by the incoming high tide.-Description:Sand bubbler...

    Stimpson, 1858
  • Dotilloplax Tweedie, 1950
  • Dotillopsis Kemp, 1919
  • Ilyoplax Stimpson, 1858
  • Potamocypoda Tweedie, 1938
  • Pseudogelasimus Tweedie, 1937
  • Scopimera
    Sand Bubbler Crab
    Sand bubbler crabs are crabs of the genera Scopimera and Dotilla in the family Dotillidae. They are small crabs that live on sandy beaches in the tropical Indo-Pacific; during the low tide, they form inflated sand pellets which are destroyed by the incoming high tide.-Description:Sand bubbler...

    De Haan, 1835
  • Shenius Serène, 1971
  • Tmethypocoelis Koelbel, 1897
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