Lybia tessellata; anemone crab; boxer crab

Japanese: キンチャクガニ（英語表記）Lybia tessellata; anemone crab; boxer crab

A crab of the order Decapoda and family Xanthopodidae in the class Malacostraca. It is found in the rocky and coral reefs of the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, south of Amami Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture. The shell is about 1.5 cm wide. The shell has a thorn-like protrusion at the intersection of the front and rear edges, giving it a slightly horizontally elongated hexagonal outline. The shell is smooth, and the shell area is unclear. The base color of the shell is reddish brown, and is divided into a tortoiseshell pattern by thick black lines. There are two black rings on each segment of the claws and ambulatory legs. It holds small sea anemones (→ sea anemones) in both its claws, which it uses to threaten predators by waving them up. It is called anemone crab because it holds sea anemones in its claws, and boxer crab because it looks like it is boxing. Other crabs known to have this behavior include nine other species in the same genus and one in the genus Polydectus . (→ Crustacea, Decapods, Arthropods, Malacostraca)

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

軟甲綱十脚目オウギガニ科。鹿児島県奄美大島以南，インド西太平洋海域の岩礁，サンゴ礁に広く分布するカニ。甲幅約 1.5cm。甲の前側縁と後側縁の交点にとげ状の突起があるため，甲の輪郭はやや横長の六角形を呈する。甲面はなめらかで，甲域は不明瞭。甲面の地色は赤褐色で，太い黒線により亀甲模様に分けられている。鋏脚，歩脚の各節に 2本ずつ黒色の輪がある。左右両方の鋏に小さなイソギンチャク（→イソギンチャク類）を挟んでおり，外敵に向かって振り上げる威嚇行動をする。イソギンチャクを挟んでいることから anemone crabと呼ばれ，またボクシングのように見えることから boxer crabとも呼ばれる。このような習性をもつカニは，ほかに同属の 9種とケブカキンチャクガニ属 Polydectus の 1種が知られている。（→甲殻類，十脚類，節足動物，軟甲類）

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