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[Biology] NCHU Biologist Discovers New Species of Fiddler Crab, Becoming the First Eastern Discoverer

Posted by gustav 
[Biology] NCHU Biologist Discovers New Species of Fiddler Crab, Becoming the First Eastern Discoverer (Chinese Version)

NCHU News (2010/03/29) National Chung Hsing University (NCHU)'s Associate Professor in the Department of Life Sciences Hsi-Te SHIH, spending over four years on collecting samples and DNA molecular analysis, has determined that the nearly-discovered fiddler crab species to be a new species. Last determination of fiddler crab's new species was announced about twenty years ago, while this is also the fiddler crab's first new species claim announced by an eastern scholar. The research result has been published in Zootaxa in the beginning of the year.

Source: NCHU News; Hsi-Te SHIH

Hsi-Te SHIH cooperates with National University of Singapore and University of the Ryukyus comparing the collected samples of the nearly-discovered crabs with over fifty other species; the team finds that the crab's DNA structure is different from any ones of the other known species and comes to a determination that this species is a new species of fiddler crab. The new species “Uca jocelynae” is named after the great master of fiddler crabs studies, Jocelyn Crane, says SHIH. Uca jocelynae has giant right pincer, and there is a deep dent on the joint of the pincer and the next appendage at each side. Uca jocelynae inhabits on clean tidal flats, and is widely distributed from Japan, Ryukyu, Taiwan, South East Asian islands till New Guinea. SHIH finds a lot of samples in Hsiyu, Penghu.

According to SHIH's molecular analysis, uca jocelynae should have been existing for millions of years. Uca jocelynae, like most of the other fiddler crabs, can filtrate the organic matters in the soil, such as algae or bacteria, in its oral cavity and spit out the clean soil. This also accelerates soil renewal in the mudflats.

Fiddler crabs are dominant in the tidal flat ecology and very common in the beaches all over the world, and hence there are a lot of biologists interested in fiddler crabs. However, since 1987 no new species has been discovered until SHIH's discovery. Besides, SHIH also breaks the record that all the discoveries of fiddler crabs are announced by the western scholars.


Related Websites:
Taiwan Fiddler Crab Information Web:
http://web.nchu.edu.tw/~htshih/uca/uca_e.htm
http://web.nchu.edu.tw/~htshih/uca/U_jocelynae_paper.htm


Reference:
NCHU News 2010/03/29 (Chinese)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/2010 10:27PM by gustav.
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