Scott & Jeanette Johnson, Kwajalein Unterwater
Info
Lybia caestifera (Alcock, 1898)
When marine aquarists talk about boxer crabs, the first species mentioned is the best-known species, Lybia tesselata, which can also be kept in marine aquariums. Boxer crabs ideally hold two small anemones in their claws, which they hold out to their predators as a kind of stinging shield for their own defense. In addition, the sea anemones use their stinging cells to capture zooplankton or zoobenthos, which the small crabs then feed on.
It is very clear that the boxer crabs, which always hold anemones in their claws, are incapable of independently seeking food like other crabs or defending themselves without the anemones in the crab manner.
The size of 5.3 mm refers to the carapace.
Synonymised names:
Melia caestifer Alcock, 1898 (basionym)
When marine aquarists talk about boxer crabs, the first species mentioned is the best-known species, Lybia tesselata, which can also be kept in marine aquariums. Boxer crabs ideally hold two small anemones in their claws, which they hold out to their predators as a kind of stinging shield for their own defense. In addition, the sea anemones use their stinging cells to capture zooplankton or zoobenthos, which the small crabs then feed on.
It is very clear that the boxer crabs, which always hold anemones in their claws, are incapable of independently seeking food like other crabs or defending themselves without the anemones in the crab manner.
The size of 5.3 mm refers to the carapace.
Synonymised names:
Melia caestifer Alcock, 1898 (basionym)
