View allAll Photos Tagged fiddlercrab
This White Ibis had to do a little work to dismember a large Fiddler Crab into bite size pieces before gulping them down.
A Fiddler Crab hangs on for dear life. But it only took this White Ibis a few minutes to shake it loose, dismember and devour it.
Two male fiddler crabs, that I think are orange-clawed fiddler crabs, Gelasimus vomeris, perhaps fighting over territory or a female or just trying to establish who is top crab.
One claw of male fiddler crabs is much larger than the other, while the females' claws are both the same size. The males use their enlarged claws for displaying to females and for fighting other males or establishing dominance between males. If damaged, the large claw can regrow.
The name "fiddler crab" comes from the way the smaller claw of a male moves to the mouth when feeding - it looks as if the crab is playing the larger claw like a fiddle.
I took these photos on a day when I had hoped to take photos of shorebirds. There were few birds so I resorted to taking photos of the crabs.
I had taken this back in the Spring and I never posted it. Two male fiddler crabs having a territorial fight. This was so interesting to watch.
Slowly making his way across the sand. The large claw (visible on the right of the image under the legs) indicates that this is a male. I love those long eyestalks. Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland.
Fiddler crabs sure look intimidating with their big claws, but if you are fast enough they are easy enough to capture.
Atlantic Sand Fiddler Crab, to be more specific. Seen along the sandy marsh shore of the Wormsloe Historic Site, outside of Savannah GA. these guys are in and out of their holes very quickly---- blink and you will miss them.
**Explore** April 7, 2022. HIghest position #339. Thanks for all of the visits and faves!
iNaturalist link www.inaturalist.org/observations/110310420
Jenny Pansing Photos
These are male marsh fiddler crabs, emerging from their burrow to feed. Male fiddler crabs have one enlarged claw, which is not used for fighting or protection but instead is used to attract a mate. Males dig a cylindrical burrow in the sand, which they maintain and protect from invaders and predators. We saw dozens of them emerging from their burrows at low tide, and it was fun to watch them as they sifted through the sand for food. Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge/Assateague Island. www.chesapeakebay.net/S=0/fieldguide/critter/fiddler_crabs
A male fiddler crab hoisting his single absurdly large claw, ready to duel. At Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.
Seems we have a bit of a "gun to a knife-fight" situation! Both these Fiddler Crabs are males. Their single large claw is used for signalling other crabs, particularly females. Of course, they are also used for fighting, but not as often as you might imagine - frequently, threat is enough, especially when your claw is twice as large as your opponent!
This Sanderling captured a fiddler crab for its dinner. It actually took this shorebird quite some time to break the shell and pick the meat out of the crab. It was interesting to watch, as I have not seen Sanderlings eat small crabs before; typically sea worms or other much smaller crustaceans that they find in the sand with their beak. View large for best Crab Dinner experience.
It is the weekend! Hooray!! Thank you for stopping by~!
MALEZYA: Kuala Selangor, Hitam Alam Tabiat Parkı; 30.01.2016
Meşhur kemancı yengeçleri, mangrov bataklıklarında kendileri gibi meşhur çamurzıpzıpları ile birlikte buldum. Erkeklerin makas benzeri kollarından (chela) biri oldukça uzundur. Hayvanın vücudunun yarısı kol dersem; az bile söylemiş olurum. Dişileri çok daha küçük. Gel-git sırasında sular alçaldığından sağda görülen deliklerinden çıkarak çamur üzerinde küçük pedipalpleriyle hızlı hızlı beslendikleri görülebilir. Sanırım çamurdaki detrituslarla besleniyorlar. En ufak hareketinizde yuvaya geri kaçıyorlar. Sular tekrar yükselene kadar dışarıdaki beslenme sürüler halinde devam ediyor.
While I was watching Black Skimmers skim, I did notice not too far from my feet a few Fiddler Crabs. They're only a couple of inches or so, and shy, so the close focus of my 200-600 at 8 feet couldn't have helped much had it been better. Check this out large for sure. Of note is that one of the claws of the male Fiddler Crab is much larger than the other one, held in front of its body just as a fiddler holds his violin. The claw of the male Fiddler Crab is believed to be an essential status symbol in the community of the Fiddler Crabs, and also supposedly plays a role in their mating rituals, being used in combat with the competitors. While not today, I have seen the combat behavior where they really wave that big claw in animated gesture. Really interesting was that one of the others I photographed was a lefty, while this one is a right.
Lastly, I could have cropped this more, but I wanted to show a bit of the habitat, including the California Horn Snail shell in the soft focus to the left.
There are large numbers of African fiddler crabs (Uca tangeri) living in the mud of the Ria Formosa. The textbooks say that they hibernate deep in their burrows from October until April. However, if the temperature rises above 20C then up they come. These were actively displaying in Olhao in early November. Their appearances ceased a few days later when it got a little colder.
this little guy stars in my YouTube video of the tidal marsh area near Yankeetown Florida... here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDU1zEZ7mlQ
Taken in the mangroves of Pantai Kok, Langkawi, Malaysia. The colours on these crabs is amazing... especially when the ones in this mangrove varied in size from anything between 1/4" to 1" wide!
Change of pace before we go into a tern fishing frenzy. Thanks for Explore, the visits and comments!!!
Shui Hau Wan features a tidal flat (or mud-flat), which is designated as a marine reserve. It provides an important eco-system for sea life, such as horse-shoe crabs (also known as “living fossils”), clams, cockles, spiral-shelled snails, and brightly colored fiddler crabs scurrying across the flat sandy beach at low tide.
Taken at Shui Hau Wan, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Explore #05 (2022-10-13) - Thank you for stopping by and for your words of encouragement and favorites!
The fiddler crab or calling crab can be one of the hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae. These crabs are well known for their extreme sexual dimorphism, where the male crabs have a major claw significantly larger than their minor claw, whilst females' claws are both the same size.
Source:
Wikipedia
A fiddler crab, sometimes known as a calling crab, may be any of approximately 100 species of semi-terrestrial marine crabs which make up the genus Uca. This entire group is composed of small crabs – the largest being slightly over 4,5 cm across. Fiddler crabs are found along sea beaches and brackish inter-tidal mud flats, lagoons and swamps. Fiddler crabs are most well known for their sexually dimorphic claws; the males’ major claw is much larger than the minor claw while the females’ claws are both the same size.
Wenkkrabben vormen een geslacht van circa 100 krabben.
Bij de mannetjes is een van de scharen naar verhouding zeer groot. Het rugschild van wenkkrabben wordt tussen de 2 en 4,5 cm breed. Hun ogen dragen ze op steeltjes. Ze leven hooguit twee jaar.
Wenkkrabben komen vooral voor in mangrovebossen en op stranden langs tropische en subtropische kusten van de Atlantische Oceaan en de Stille Zuidzee.
Gedurende hoogwater (vloed) verschuilen ze zich in hun zelf gegraven holletjes die tot 60 cm diep kunnen zijn.
Bij eb kruipen ze naar buiten en dwalen ze over het strand.
Het voedsel bestaat vooral uit algen en verder alles wat ze op drooggevallen stranden kunnen vinden.
Wenkkrabben worden in relatief weinig dierentuinen gehouden.
In www.burgerszoo.nl/ zijn ze te vinden op een slijkvlak (modderstrand) in de getijdenzone van Burgers’ Mangrove.
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A work in progress. This is not the photo that I literally crawled on the sand for an hour to get, but it's as close as I could come to it before Lucy (one of my dogs) apparently couldn't live another minute without me. These guys are very small and very shy, a real challenge to photograph. I shall return! (But perhaps not until Spring when the fiddlers take on a more attractive and contrasting color.)
A couple of male European fiddler crabs with display claws of very different size. It's obvious which one has attracted the attention of the lady.
These crabs were present in large numbers on virtually every patch of mud along the Ria Formosa, which indicates that they aren't good eating! This photograph was taken at Fuseta,