Fiddler crab claw (Sanibel Island, Florida, USA)

Description:

Description: English: Fiddler crab claw in Florida, USA. (March 2014) The crustaceans are a large group of arthropods that inhabit marine, marginal marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. The crustaceans include crabs, lobsters, shrimp, crayfish, barnacles, ostracods, and other organisms. The oldest fossil crustaceans are in the Cambrian. The group experienced a significant radiation in the oceans during the Mesozoic Marine Revolution. Shown above is a fiddler crab claw. Fiddler crabs are small-sized decapod crustaceans. Males have an enlarged claw (right or left), which can be larger than the rest of the body. "Fiddler" in the common name refers to claw waving behavior that is reminiscent of the bow arm of a violin player. The claw itself, and the rest of the exoskeleton, is composed of chitin, a tough organic material (see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitin ). Classification: Animalia, Arthropoda, Crustacea, Malacostraca, Decapoda, Brachyura, Ocypodidae Locality: Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, southwestern Florida, USA More info. at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crustacean and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler_crab. Date: 12 March 2014, 14:52:17. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/29512793322/. Author: James St. John. Camera location26° 27′ 15.7″ N, 82° 06′ 59.95″ W View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 26.454362; -82.116653.