Uca (Austruca) Lactea (De Haan, 1835)

Srivastava, O. P., 2017, Marine and estuarine crabs of Digha coast, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 117 (1), pp. 49-72 : 66

52. Uca (Austruca) Lactea (De Haan, 1835)

1835. Ocypode (Gelasimus) lacteus De Haan, In : Siebold, Fauna japan. (Crust): 54. pl. 15, Figure 5.

1900. Gelasimus annulipes Alcock, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal. 69 (2): 353.

1900. Gelasimus lacteus Alcock, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal. 69 (2): 355.

1975. Uca (Celuca) lactaea Crane, Fiddler Crabs of the World: 292.

1995. Uca (Celuca) lactaea annulipes Bairagi, Zool. Sur. India Estuarine Ecosystem Series, Part 2: Hugli Matla Estuary: 273.

2001. Uca lacteal : Dev Roy and Bhadra, Zool. Surv. India Estuarine Ecosystem Series 4: Fauna of Godavari Estuary: 51.

Material examined: None. Based on earlier report.

Diagnosis: Carapace subquadrilateral, much broader than long, regions not clearly defined. Antero-lateral borders almost straight, dorso-lateral border extended beyond the level of second pair of walking leg. Chelipeds remarkably unequal in male, equal in female; outer surface of chelipeds smooth; upper border of palm about half the length of dactylus, inner surface with an oblique tuberculate ridge; dactylus hook-like, compressed; pollex little curved upwards, truncated at tips due to the presence of an enlarged tooth. Merus of last pair of legs markedly slender. Male abdomen consisting of seven distinct segments .

Distribution; India: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh (East Godavari, Guntur, Nellore, Vizianagarum), Odisha (Chilka Lake, Gopalpur beach, Mahanadi estuary), Gujarat (Okha), Karnataka (Karwar), Kerala (Travancore), Maharashtra ( Mumbai, Kolak, Umarsadi), Puducherry, Tamil Nadu (Gulf of Mannar, Chennai, Parangipettai coast, Pichavaram, Pulicat Lake) and West Bengal (Digha coast). Elsewhere: Australia, China, East Africa, Indonesia, Japan, Mergui Archipelago, Malay Peninsula, Madagascar, Mauritius, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Pakistan, Persian Gulf, Philippines, Red Sea, Ryukyu Island, Singapore, South Africa and Thailand.