| Austruca mjoebergi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Austruca mjoebergi, banana fiddler crab, Australia | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Ocypodidae |
| Subfamily: | Gelasiminae |
| Tribe: | Gelasimni |
| Genus: | Austruca |
| Species: | A. mjoebergi |
| Binomial name | |
| Austruca mjoebergi | |
Austruca mjoebergi is a species offiddler crab discovered by and named after theSwedishzoologistEric Mjöberg (1882–1938), member of a Swedish scientific expedition toAustralia in the early 1900s.
The crab is found along the north and northwest coast of Australia (approximately fromDampier to theGulf of Carpentaria and onPapua New Guinea's northwest coast).[2]
Austruca mjoebergi was formerly in the genusUca, but in 2016 it was placed in the genusAustruca, a former subgenus ofUca.[3][4][5]
MaleAustruca mjoebergi rely heavily on their enlarged claw to signal dominance and fighting prowess. Crabs which lose their large claw will occasionally regenerate a lighter, cheaper claw (requiring less energy to produce). Research has shown that, while crabs with these 'cheap' claws are worse fighters than crabs with strong claws of a similar size, they are just as effective at intimidating other crabs based on claw size alone.[6][7]
Data related toAustruca mjobergi at Wikispecies