Ocypode quadrata ( Fabricius, 1787 )

Parasram, Nadeshinie, Santana, William & Vallès, Henri, 2021, Updated checklist of semi-terrestrial and estuarine crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) of Barbados, West Indies, Zootaxa 5052 (4), pp. 451-485 : 476-478

Ocypode quadrata ( Fabricius, 1787)

Fig. 16 A, B

Cancer quadratus Fabricius, 1787: 315 [type-locality: Jamaica].

Ocypode rhombea Weber, 1795: 92 .

Ocypode rhombea Fabricius, 1798: 348 [type-locality: unknown].

Ocypode albicans Bosc, 1802: 196 [type-locality: La Caroline].

Ocypode albicans Latreille, 1802: 48 .— Rathbun, 1918: 367, pls. 127, 128.

Monolepis inermis Say, 1817: 157 [type-locality: Maryland].

Ocypode arenarius Say, 1817: 69 [type-locality: United States].

Ocypoda arenaria H. Milne Edwards, 1837: 44 , pl.19, figs. 13, 14.

Ocypode quadrata — Williams 1984: 468–9, fig. 375 a–c. Keith 1985: 276, fig. 12 c. Chace & Hobbs 1969: 204, figs. 68 & 69. Melo 1996: 484, unnumbered figure. Coelho et al. 2008: 41. Ng et al. 2008: 240. Poupin 2018: 231. García & Capote 2015: 19, fig. 9 d. Shih et al. 2016: 143, 147.

Material examined. Barbados, Cattlewash , St. Joseph, sandy shore, 13̊ 13’12.9” N–59̊ 31’76.0” W, 1 ♂ CW: 21.5 mm ( BLSZ 080 ) . Barbados, Long Pond , St. Andrew, sandy shore, 13̊ 15’40.6” N–59̊ 33’22.94” W, 1 ♂ (CW: 3.8mm) ( BLSZ 003 , MZUSP 40857 ) .

Distribution. Ocypode quadrata is found in the Western Atlantic: USA (Rhodes Island, Florida), Bermuda, Eleuthera Island, New Providence Island, San Salvador Island, Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Martin, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustache, St. Kitts, Nevis, Guadeloupe, Isla de Aves, Dominica, Martinique, Honduras, St. Lucia, Barbados, Tobago, Trinidad, Margarita, Isla de Cubagua, Blanquilla, Tortuga, Orchila, Los Roques, Curaçao, Aruba, Isla de Providencia, Swan Island, Colombia, Venezuela, Republic of Guyana, Costa Rica, and Brazil ( Chace & Hobbs 1969; Melo 1996; Sakai & Türkay 2013; Poupin 2018).

Distribution in Barbados. Island wide; all coastal areas on the north, east, south, and west. Green Pond, Long Pond, Brandons, Fitts Village, Holetown Police Station, Weston, and Sherman’s [ Table 1 (Site #s: 2, 3, 13, 14, 16, 20 & 26)].

Habitat in Barbados. Sandy shores and supralittoral zones along the shoreline ( Fig. 2B : I).

Ecological notes. This species is common in Barbados. Ocypode quadrata can be found in the same sandy shore habitats as Gercarcinus lateralis in coastal wetlands. However, they are found closer to the high-water mark. Ocypode quadrata were seen feeding on Minuca burgersi at the Long Pond wetland.

Remarks. First reported by Rathbun (1921) as Ocypode albicans using specimens collected during the Barbados-Antigua Expedition in 1918. Two (2) male specimens were collected from a beach on the south coast and one female specimen was collected from the Pelican Island (which no longer exists) in Bridgetown. The specimens are stored at the USNM (Catalogue # Unknown). Nutting (1918) also deposited one (1) male specimen of Ocypode albicans , collected on the east coast of Barbados, at the USNM (Catalogue # 68833). One (1) female specimen of Ocypode quadrata was deposited at the USNM (Catalogue # 73313) by Schmitt, W. l., collected during the Smithsonian-Hartford Expedition (1937). Jones (1968a: 161) reported the species Ocypode occidentalis Stimpson, 1860 , for Barbados. However, the description provided by Jones for O. occidentalis is very similar to that of a juvenile O. quadrata specimen. Jones did not deposit the specimens of O. occidentalis at the Barbados Museum or at any other institution; thus, the record of O. occidentalis for Barbados is doubtful.

Figures

FIGURE 2A. Semi-terrestrial and estuarine habitats of Barbados. A, B, Coastal Wetlands; C, D, Rocky Shores (Photos: N. Parasram).

FIGURE 16. Habitus of Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) (BLSZ 107). Male: A, dorsal view; B, ventral view. Scale bar: 20 mm.