Cancrocaeca
Sign in to saveCancrocaeca xenomorpha is a species of troglobitic (cave-dwelling) freshwater crab from Sulawesi, the only species in the monotypic genus Cancrocaeca. It has been described as the world's "most highly cave-adapted species of crab".
Species
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumArthropoda
- ClassMalacostraca
- OrderDecapoda
- FamilyHymenosomatidae
via GBIF
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- taxon name
- Cancrocaeca
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Article
5 sectionsContents
- Description
- Distribution
- Biology
- Taxonomic history
- References
Cancrocaeca xenomorpha is a species of troglobitic (cave-dwelling) freshwater crab from Sulawesi, the only species in the monotypic genus Cancrocaeca. It has been described as the world's "most highly cave-adapted species of crab".
==Description== Cancrocaeca xenomorpha is a small crab with long legs. It has no eyes or even vestiges of eyestalks, and has only vague depressions where the orbits of the eyes might be expected; this is the greatest degree of ocular degeneration of any crab. The carapace is rounded in outline, without any rostrum, and is slightly wider than it is long. The five pairs of legs are very long, at up to 3.7 times the width of the carapace in length.