Tanaocheles
Encyclopedia
Tanaocheles is a genus
of crab
s, the only genus in the family Tanaocheleidae. It contains two species, T. bidentata and T. stenochilus. The two species were formerly placed in different families, and they were only shown to be related, and placed in a new subfamily (now elevated to the taxonomic rank
of family
), in 2000.
.
, where it lives among colonies of the stony coral
Leptoseris gardineri. It was originally placed in the Trapeziidae
.
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, the only genus in the family Tanaocheleidae. It contains two species, T. bidentata and T. stenochilus. The two species were formerly placed in different families, and they were only shown to be related, and placed in a new subfamily (now elevated to the taxonomic rank
Taxonomic rank
In biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...
of 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...
), in 2000.
Tanaocheles bidentata
Originally described as Chlorodius bidentatus, and later called Chlorodiella bidentata, Tanaocheles bidentata was assigned for a long time to the XanthidaeXanthidae
Xanthidae is a family of crabs known as mud crabs, pebble crabs or rubble crabs. They are often brightly coloured and are poisonous, containing toxins which are not destroyed by cooking and for which no antidote is known...
.
Tanaocheles stenochilus
Tanaocheles stenochilus was described in 1989 from material collected in GuamGuam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, where it lives among colonies of the stony coral
Scleractinia
Scleractinia, also called stony corals, are exclusively marine animals; they are very similar to sea anemones but generate a hard skeleton. They first appeared in the Middle Triassic and replaced tabulate and rugose corals that went extinct at the end of the Permian...
Leptoseris gardineri. It was originally placed in the Trapeziidae
Trapeziidae
Trapeziidae is a family of crabs. All the species in the family are found in a close symbiosis with cnidarians. They are found across the Indo-Pacific, and can best be identified to the species level by the colour patterns they display...
.