PORT PHILLIP BAY


Southern Sentinel Crab 

Tasmanoplax latifrons Haswell, 1881

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Front narrow, deflexed, slightly constricted. Carapace with granules in branchial region. Epistome with central protuberance. Male chela palm without spines but with longitudinal ridge on inner surface, without larger tooth on deflexed fixed finger. Yellow-brown.

Source: Poore, G.C.B. (2004) Marine decapod Crustacea of southern Australia. A guide to identification (with chapter on Stomatopoda by Shane Ahyong). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 574 pp.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Subclass:
Eumalacostraca
Superorder:
Eucarida
Order:
Decapoda
Suborder:
Pleocyemata
Infraorder:
Brachyura
Family:
Ocypodidae
Subfamily:
Macrophthalminae
Genus:
Tasmanoplax
Species:
latifrons

General Description

Carapace yellow-brown, wider than long. Eyestalks long, usually projecting upward from the carapace for a better view. Up to 3 cm wide (carapace).

Biology

Southern Sentinel Crabs live in permanent burrows in mudflats. They are one of many crab species living on tropical mudflats, but one of only a few that live on mudflats in southern Australia.

Habitat

In burrows on intertidal seagrass-covered mudflats.

Seagrass meadows

Soft substrates

Coastal shores

Distribution guide

South-eastern Australia. In western and central Victoria.

Species Group

Crabs and allies › Crabs

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

3 cm

Diet

Carnivore

Harmful

Not harmful but a nip from claws could be painful.

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Species Code

MoV 990

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Not listed
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Not listed

Author

article author Taylor, J.

Dr. Jo Taylor is the Sciences Collections Online Coordinator at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Poore, G.C.B.

Dr. Gary Poore is Principal Curator Emeritus at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Taylor, J. & Poore, G.C.B., 2011, Southern Sentinel Crab, Tasmanoplax latifrons, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 22 Oct 2024, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/4147

Text: creative commons cc by licence