Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-lvwk9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-06T22:15:32.205Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Egg extrusion site of coconut crab Birgus latro: direct observation of terrestrial egg extrusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Taku Sato  and
Kenzo Yoseda
Taku Sato*
Affiliation:
Ishigaki Tropical Station, Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Ishigaki, Okinawa 907-0451, Japan
Kenzo Yoseda
Affiliation:
Ishigaki Tropical Station, Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Ishigaki, Okinawa 907-0451, Japan
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: T. Sato Ishigaki, Tropical Station, Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Ishigaki, Okinawa 907-0451, Japan email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Little is known about the egg extrusion site and behaviour of the coconut crab Birgus latro. We first succeeded to observe a single instance of egg extrusion of this species in their habitat on Hatoma Island, south-west of Okinawa, Japan, on the night of 5 June 2008. In this paper, we present details of the egg extrusion site and behaviour of the coconut crab.

Keywords

Birgus latrococonut crabfertilizationegg extrusion site
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 2 , January 2009 , e37
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Amesbury, S.S. (1980) Biological studies on the coconut crab (Birgus latro) in the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Technical Report, no. 66, 39 pp.Google Scholar
Brown, I.W. and Fielder, D.R. (1991) Project overview and literature survey. In Brown, I.W. and Fielder, D.R. (eds) The coconut crab: aspects of Birgus latro biology and ecology in Vanuatu. ACIAR Monograph, no. 8, pp. 1–11.Google Scholar
Fletcher, W.J. (1993) Coconut crabs. In Wright, A. and Hill, L. (eds) Nearshore marine resources of the South Pacific. Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, FFA, and ICOD. pp. 643–681.Google Scholar
Fletcher, W.J., Brown, I.W. and Fielder, D.R. (1990) Movement of coconut crabs (Birgus latro L.) in a rainforest habitat in Vanuatu. Pacific Science 44, 407–416.Google Scholar
Gibson-Hill, C.A. (1947) Field notes on the terrestrial crabs (Christmas Island). Bulletin of the Raffles Museum 18, 43–52.Google Scholar
Helfman, G.S. (1977) Copulatory behavior of the coconut or robber crab Birgus latro (L.) (Decapoda, Anomura, Paguridea, Coenobitidae). Crustaceana 33, 198–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hess, G.S. and Bauer, R.T. (2002) Spermatophore transfer in the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Crustacea, Anomura, Diogenidae). Journal of Morphology 253, 166–175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matthews, D.C. (1956) The probable method of fertilization in terrestrial hermit crabs based on comparative study of spermatophores. Pacific Science 10, 303–309.Google Scholar
Sato, T. and Yoseda, K. (2008) Reproductive season and female maturity size of coconut crab Birgus latro in Hatoma Island, southern part of Japan. Fisheries Science 74, 1277–1282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sato, T., Yoseda, K., Abe, O. and Shibuno, T. (2008) Male maturity, number of sperm and spermatophore size relationships with male size in coconut crab Birgus latro in Hatoma Island, southern part of Japan. Journal of Crustacean Biology 28, 663–668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schiller, C., Fielder, D.R., Brown, I.W. and Obed, A. (1991) Reproduction, early life-history and recruitment. In Brown, I.W. and Fielder, D.R. (eds) The coconut crab: aspects of Birgus latro biology and ecology in Vanuatu. ACIAR Monograph, no. 8, pp. 13–35.Google Scholar
Sheppard, C.R.C. (1991) Status of three rare animals on Chagos. Environmental Conservation 6, 310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tudge, C.C. (1991) Spermatophore diversity within and among the hermit crab families, Coenobitidae, Diogenidae, and Paguridae (Paguroidae, Anomura, Decapoda). Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole 181, 238–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wells, S.M., Pyle, R.M. and Collins, N.M. (1983) Coconut or robber crab. In IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book. Gland: IUCN, pp. 309–316.Google Scholar