Zoology Museum

Post Graduates and Research Department of Zoology, V.O. Chidambaram College, Tuticorin 628 008 Tamil Nadu

Ar.82 Dotilla myctiroides (Sand bubbler crab)

 

Ar.82                                 Dotilla myctiroides (Sand bubbler crab)

 

Kingdom     :   Animalia

Phylum        :   Arthropoda

Subphylum  :   Crustacea

Class           :    Malacostraca

Order          :    Decapoda

Family        :     Dotillidae

Genus         :    Dotilla

Species       :     myctiroides

 

Description: Dotilla myctiroides is a species of sand bubbler crab found on tropical shores and mud-flats of India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. They breed throughout the year but activity peaks during the monsoons. This species builds a burrow, called an "igloo", in unstable sand as well as in well-drained and firm sand. In building the igloo, the crab excavates sand and forms it into spherical pellets. These pellets are used to form a circular wall and roof in the burrow. The resulting structure holds a small amount of air in addition to the crab itself.


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