ZooKeys
Info
The first specimen of this crab was collected as early as 1944 near Mud Island, Moreton Bay, Queensland, eastern Australia (holotype), but it was not formally described until 1969.
In 2026, Eucrate tripunctata was first reported from the South China Sea.
When alive, the carapace is pale cream to orange-red, darker in the front two-thirds
The crab’s claws are covered with dense orange-red spots; the walking legs are orange-red, white at the base.
Current distribution.
Guangxi, Guangdong, South China Sea, Gulf of Thailand, Singapore, Queensland (Australia).
The size measurements refer to the crab’s carapace; data on water depth and water temperature were not recorded.
Etymology:
The species name “tripunctata” means “three dots,” though we were unable to identify them as such in the photos.
Reference.
Ziming Y, Zhongli S, Jiao C, Wei J (2026) Eucrate liui sp. nov. (Crustacea, Brachyura, Euryplacidae), a new crab species from the South China Sea, with the first record of Eucrate tripunctata in the region. ZooKeys 1284: 185–204.
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1284.193896
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
In 2026, Eucrate tripunctata was first reported from the South China Sea.
When alive, the carapace is pale cream to orange-red, darker in the front two-thirds
The crab’s claws are covered with dense orange-red spots; the walking legs are orange-red, white at the base.
Current distribution.
Guangxi, Guangdong, South China Sea, Gulf of Thailand, Singapore, Queensland (Australia).
The size measurements refer to the crab’s carapace; data on water depth and water temperature were not recorded.
Etymology:
The species name “tripunctata” means “three dots,” though we were unable to identify them as such in the photos.
Reference.
Ziming Y, Zhongli S, Jiao C, Wei J (2026) Eucrate liui sp. nov. (Crustacea, Brachyura, Euryplacidae), a new crab species from the South China Sea, with the first record of Eucrate tripunctata in the region. ZooKeys 1284: 185–204.
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1284.193896
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
