A very unique quality of Uca pugilator is that they are able to regenerate lost limbs. Regeneration is based on two growth stages, basal and proecdysial. The first stage of growth, basal growth, is due to the increase of cell number by mitotic division of the blastemal cells. The second stage or proecdysial growth is due to the increase in cell size by protein synthesis and water uptake. It usually takes many months to complete full regeneration and the new pincer is normally not as large nor as strong as the original.
( Chung 2001)
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
Growth of marsh grasses can be affected by their activity. Uca pugilator can erode or undermine marshbanks by burrowing and feeding.
(He Zhong 2001)
Uca pugilator are not only important regulators of cordgrass but also are important to the foodweb. They are eaten by larger predators, such as blue crab, rails, egrets, herons, and raccoons. Fiddler crabs also stimulate the turnover and mineralization of important nutrients. They can even be a good environmental indicator to environmental contaminates especially insecticides.
(He Zhong 2001)
Sand Fiddlers ingest particles of sand or mud and they use their mouthparts to scrape food materials from the sediment, and then deposit the sediment back down on the ground as a "feeding pellet." The actual method of consumption occurs when the scooped mud is put in their mouths and the entrapped detritus is filtered out using specialized brush-like mouthparts. Water is pumped from their gills into their mouths to float the detritus free of the mud. The food material consists of decaying organic matter or unicellular plants such as algae. The chelipeds are used for picking up the small amounts of sediment not for crushing things or for a grip. Because of one enlarged claw the males cannot eat as fast as females so they have to eat twice as fast.
(Priest 2000)
The Sand fiddler crab is one of three Uca species, which are found from Cape Cod to Texas with the exception of Florida and south of St. Augustine. The locations of the crabs are usually near the coastal marshes or near intertidal zones.
(NOAA Costal Services Center 2001)
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Fiddler crabs are found in strongly brackish to saltwater salinities all along the eastern seaboard. They live in low marshes, which have sediments that are covered by water on most high tides, characterized primarily by saltmarsh cordgrass. Uca pugilator each live in a hole or burrow that it digs for itself. The burrow can be closed with a mud cap for security. During low tide fiddler crabs abandon its dwelling to search for food, but never strays very far unless it is to court a female or scare away a neighbor.
(Priest 2000)
Aquatic Biomes: coastal
The Sand fiddler crab is approximately 1.5 inches(38mm) wide and 1.0 inch(25mm) long. All fiddler crabs are similar in shape, having a smooth carapace and a square-shaped body. The eyes are found at the ends of two long and slender, movable eyestalks located in the center of the carapace. Male fiddler crabs are brighter in color, having a purple grey or blue carapace with irregular markings of black or brown. The females have equal-sized claws and generally have a much more subdued coloration on their carapaces. Being that they are crabs they are considered decapods or animals with ten limbs; although both of their claws are not referred to as legs, they are actually chelipeds or claws. Males have a common characteristic of one large pincer. This pincer, which is usually brightly colored, can either be on the right or left side and is at least four times larger than the other. The large cheliped can be as fifty percent as massive as the rest of the male combined. Uca pugilator use the large claw to defend their burrows and attract mates. Fiddler crabs even get their name from the male's large claw.
(He Zhong 2001)
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Breeding occurs approximately every two weeks for most of the summer. Reproduction occurs in burrows similar to the ones Uca pugilator live in only larger and better-maintained. The two crabs mate and then two weeks later after the incubating of the eggs for the night will return to the surface and release her eggs into the water where they develop. The female when at the water extrudeds all of her fertilized eggs, which can be as many as a quarter million, onto her abdominal flap in one small spongy cluster. The eggs will hatch after several months and will be released into the nearest tidal creek during high tide where again after several months the young fiddler crabs undergo metamorphosis and change into their final form. These new adult crabs return to the land for the rest of their lives.
(Priest 2000)
Leptuca pugilator, the sand fiddler crab, Atlantic sand fiddler crab, or Calico fiddler, is a species of fiddler crab that is found from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico. It lives in burrows in coastal and estuarine mud-flats, and can be extremely abundant. It can be differentiated from the morphologically similar Minuca pugnax and Minuca minax by the smoothness of the inside of its claws. One claw is larger than the other, and can be much larger than the crab's body, at up to 41 mm (1.6 in) long.
Leptuca pugilator was formerly in the genus Uca, but in 2016 it became a member of the genus Leptuca, a former subgenus of Uca.[1][2][3]
The carapace is square in shape, tapering slightly to the rear; it can reach a width of 25 millimetres (0.98 in), but is typically up to 21 mm (0.83 in) wide and 14 mm (0.55 in) long.[4] The space between the eyes is much shorter than the eyestalk. The males have one extremely enlarged chela (claw), which they use to claim their territory and fight with other males. The claw can be much larger than the body, at up to 35 mm (1.4 in) long, or exceptionally up to 41 mm (1.6 in) long.[4] It is common for males to lose claws in the battles. When this happens, the claw regenerates and the opposite side begins to enlarge. Fiddler crabs are right or left clawed. The inside of these claws are also very smooth, unlike its other close relatives Minuca pugnax and Minuca minax.[5]
Leptuca pugilator is one of only five species of fiddler crabs found primarily in temperate areas.[6] The species occurs on the east coast of North America and in the Gulf of Mexico, having been found as far north as Massachusetts and as far south as Texas and Florida. This species has also reportedly been found in the Bahamas.[7] They may also be found in the warmer waters of the Atlantic along the West coast of Africa.
Leptuca pugilator can be found in estuarine and coastal areas or sheltered shores with sandy or muddy substrates.[6] It is frequently found in areas bordering marshes and along the banks of tidal streams.[7] It can be found in these areas in large numbers – thousands to millions.[6]
Leptuca pugilator, the sand fiddler crab, Atlantic sand fiddler crab, or Calico fiddler, is a species of fiddler crab that is found from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico. It lives in burrows in coastal and estuarine mud-flats, and can be extremely abundant. It can be differentiated from the morphologically similar Minuca pugnax and Minuca minax by the smoothness of the inside of its claws. One claw is larger than the other, and can be much larger than the crab's body, at up to 41 mm (1.6 in) long.
Leptuca pugilator was formerly in the genus Uca, but in 2016 it became a member of the genus Leptuca, a former subgenus of Uca.
