Gecarcoidea
TaxonGecarcoidea
AuthorityH. Milne-Edwards, 1837
Synonyms
  • Pelocarcinus H. Milne-Edwards, 1853
  • Hylaeocarcinus Wood-Mason, 1873
  • Limnocarcinus De Man, 1879

Gecarcoidea is a genus of terrestrial crabs within the family Gecarcinidae.

The following species within the genus Gecarcoidea are recognised:[1][2]

ImageNameCommon nameDistribution
Gecarcoidea humei [3](Wood-Mason, 1874)the eastern Indian Ocean, including Christmas Island[3]
Gecarcoidea lalandii H. Milne-Edwards, 1837Andaman Islands purple crabthe Indo-Pacific from the Andaman Islands and eastwards
Gecarcoidea natalis Pocock, 1889)Christmas Island red crabChristmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands

History

When Michael Türkay revised the Gecarcinidae family in 1974, the G. humei species was originally classified as a junior synonym of the G. lalandii species.[3] However, due to differences in physical characteristics and distribution, G. humei became recognised as an independent species to G. lalandii in 2017.[3]

References

  1. ^ Ng, Peter K. L.; Guinot, Danièle; Davie, Peter J. F. (2008-01-31). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 17: 1–286. Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine. – via the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
  2. ^ Boyko, Christopher B. (24 May 2022). "Gecarcoidea H. Milne Edwards, 1837". 206904. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  3. ^ Lai, Joelle C. Y.; Shih, Hsi-Te; Ng, Peter K. L. (2017-06-09). "The systematics of land crabs of the genus Gecarcoidea and recognition of a pseudocryptic species, G. humei, from the eastern Indian Ocean (Crustacea : Decapoda : Gecarcinidae)". Invertebrate Systematics. 31 (4): 406–426. doi:10.1071/IS16052. ISSN 1447-2600