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Species Ocypode quadrata - Atlantic Ghost Crab

Ghost crab in New Jersey - Ocypode quadrata

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Crustacea (Crustaceans)

Class Malacostraca (Malacostracans)

Superorder Eucarida (Eucarida (Crabs, Crayfish, Shrimp, etc.))

Order Decapoda (Crabs, Crayfishes, Lobsters, Prawns, and Shrimp)

Infraorder Brachyura (True Crabs)

Family Ocypodidae (Fiddler Crabs and Ghost Crabs)

Genus Ocypode (Ghost Crabs)

Species quadrata (Atlantic Ghost Crab)

Explanation of Names

Author: J. C. Fabricius, 1787

Identification

The only species of ghost crab along Atlantic beaches.

Range

From RI along the coast to Brazil.

Habitat

Sandy beaches.

Remarks

Individuals are occasionally found north of Rhode Island, though they cannot survive the winters there.

Update: articles in 2013 indicate that a breeding population is present on Martha's Vineyard. Records of juveniles run as far north as Kennebunkport, ME, one of which is posted here on the Guide.

Print References

Oktay, S. 2013, Ghost Crabs! "Today's Island, Yesterday's Nantucket" (news article/blog post)

McDermott, J 2013, The Distribution of Ocypode quadrata, Atlantic Ghost Crab (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae) Megalopae, beyond the Presumptive Northern Boundary of Adult Populations in the Northwest Atlantic. Northeastern Naturalist 20 (4) pp. 578-586

Internet References

Atlantic Ghost Crab

Contributed by Charley Eiseman on 24 November, 2009 - 3:41am
Additional contributions by Joshua Stuart Rose, metrioptera
Last updated 17 April, 2020 - 7:41am

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