Percnon gibbesi
{{Short description|Species of crab}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Percnon gibbesi Linosa 053.jpg
| taxon = Percnon gibbesi
| authority = (H. Milne-Edwards, 1853) {{ITIS |id=99074 |taxon=Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) |access-date=27 March 2023}}
| synonyms =
- Acanthopus gibbesi H. Milne-Edwards, 1853
- Plagusia delaunayi Rochebrune, 1883
}}
Percnon gibbesi is a species of crab.{{cite journal |journal=JMBA2 Biodiversity Records |title=Racing across the Mediterranean — first record of Percnon gibbesi (Crustacea: Decapoda: Grapsidae) in Greece |author1=S. Cannicci |author2=L. Garcia |author3=B. S. Galil |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |url=http://www.mba.ac.uk/jmba/pdf/5300.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721043706/http://www.mba.ac.uk/jmba/pdf/5300.pdf |archivedate=2011-07-21 }} It is one of at least two species commonly called Sally Lightfoot (the other being the semi-terrestrial Grapsus grapsus from the Pacific coast of the Americas), and is also referred to as the nimble spray crab or urchin crab.{{cite web |url=http://reefguide.org/nimblespraycrab.html |title=Percnon gibbesi |work=Florent's Guide To The Tropical Reefs |author=Florent Charpin |access-date=January 9, 2010}} It has been described as "the most invasive decapod species to enter the Mediterranean".
Description
Adults have a carapace {{convert|30|mm}} wide, and legs with yellow rings at the joints.{{cite web |url=http://www.europe-aliens.org/speciesFactsheet.do?speciesId=100708 |title=Percnon gibbesi |publisher=Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe |access-date=January 9, 2010 |author=B. S. Galil |date=November 6, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017151844/http://www.europe-aliens.org/speciesFactsheet.do?speciesId=100708 |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |url-status=dead }} Each of the five pairs of walking legs has a row of spines along the leading edge. Females carrying eggs have been caught off West Africa between February and April and August; the larvae which hatch from them are planktonic and long-lived, which may contribute to the species' invasiveness.
Taxonomy
The genus Percnon is currently placed in the family Percnidae, although it has also been placed in Plagusiidae.{{cite journal |journal=Raffles Bulletin of Zoology |year=2008 |volume=17 |pages=1–286 |title=Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world |first1=Peter K. L. |last1=Ng |author2=Danièle Guinot |author3=Peter J. F. Davie |name-list-style=amp |url=https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/app/uploads/2017/04/s17rbz.pdf }}
Distribution
P. gibbesi is one of the most widespread grapsid crabs, being found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and on the Pacific coast of North America. There, its range extends from California to Chile, while in the Atlantic, it occurs natively from Florida to Brazil and from Madeira to the Gulf of Guinea. It has recently invaded the Mediterranean Sea, having first been discovered at Linosa, Sicily in 1999.{{cite journal |url=http://scientiamarina.revistas.csic.es/index.php/scientiamarina/article/viewFile/772/808 |title=The exotic crab Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) (Decapoda, Grapsidae) in the Central Mediterranean |journal=Scientia Marina |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=337–340 |author1=Marco Relini |author2=Lidia Orsi |author3=Valentina Puccio |author4=Ernesto Azzurro |year=2000 |doi=10.3989/scimar.2000.64n3337|doi-access=free }} It has subsequently been found on the Balearic Islands, in Greece, in Libya in Malta and in Israel.{{cite journal |journal=Aquatic Invasions |year=2008 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=243–245 |doi=10.3391/ai.2008.3.2.16 |title=The first record of Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Plagusiidae) from the southern rim of the Mediterranean |author1=Housameddin M. Elkrwe |author2=Hasan M. Elhawaj |author3=Bella S. Galil |author4=Abdallah ben Abdallah |doi-access=free }}
Ecology
Unusually among temperate crabs, P. gibbesi is strictly herbivorous.{{cite journal |title=Feeding habits of Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) in the Sicily Strait |journal=Hydrobiologia |volume=557 |issue=1 |year=2006 |doi=10.1007/s10750-005-1310-2 |pages=79–84 |author1=V. Puccio |author2=M. Relini |author3=E. Azzurro |author4=L. Orsi Relini |s2cid=5970848 }} In the Caribbean Sea, P. gibbesi is associated with the sea urchin Diadema antillarum.{{cite web |title=Frequency of Percnon gibbesi in relation to Diadema antillarum at Rodney's Rock |author=Rickey Wallace |year=2007 |publisher=Texas A&M University |url=http://dominica.tamu.edu/student%20projects/Dominica%20Projects%20pdf%20copy/Wallace_Rickey.pdf }} In the Mediterranean Sea, P. gibbesi lives almost exclusively among boulders, and is out-competed by the native species Pachygrapsus marmoratus.{{cite journal |title=Biology and interspecific interactions of the alien crab Percnon gibbesi in the Maltese Islands |author1=Marija Sciberras |author2=Patrick J. Schembri |name-list-style=amp |doi=10.1080/17451000801964923 |journal=Marine Biology Research |volume=4 |issue=5 |year=2008 |pages=321–332|doi-access=free }} P. gibbesi is preyed upon by fish and invertebrates.
References
External links
{{Portal|Crustaceans}}
- {{Commons category-inline|Percnon gibbesi|Percnon gibbesi}}
- {{SealifePhotos|107458}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1439666}}
Category:Crabs of the Atlantic Ocean
Category:Crustaceans of the eastern Pacific Ocean
Category:Crabs of the Pacific Ocean