Mictyris guinotae (English name)

Japanese: ミナミコメツキガニ（英語表記）Mictyris guinotae

Class: Malacostraca, Order: Decapoda, Family: Mictyridae. Carapace length: 1.5 cm. The carapace is strongly raised and generally spherical, with a plate-like protrusion at the rear edge. Large individuals are blue, but small individuals are brown. They lift their body on their long walking legs and walk forward. They do not have a fixed burrow, and when they sense danger, they twist their body and quickly burrow into the sand and mud. They move in groups at low tide, feeding on the surface of the tidal flats. However, if the tidal flats are somewhat hard, they do not walk on the surface, but dig tunnels in the sand and mud to feed, pushing unnecessary sand up to the surface of the tidal flats, so the surface looks like wormholes. In 2010, populations that live in Tanegashima, Kagoshima Prefecture, and various parts of the Ryukyu Islands were classified as a separate species from the species found in East Asia. The family of crabs, which consists of one genus and five species, is collectively called soldier crabs or army crabs because they live in groups. (→ Crustacea, Decapods, Arthropoda, Malacostraca)

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

Japanese:

軟甲綱十脚目ミナミコメツキガニ科 Mictyridae。甲長 1.5cm。甲は強く盛り上がり，全体として球形で，後縁が板状に突出する。大型個体は青色を帯びているが，小型の個体では褐色。長い歩脚で体を持ち上げて前方へ歩く。定着した巣穴をもたず，危険を感ずると体をねじこむように回転して，すみやかに砂泥中にもぐる。干潮時に干潟表面の餌を食べながら群れをなして移動する。しかし，干潟がやや硬い場合は表面を歩かず，砂泥中にトンネルを掘りながら摂餌し，不要の砂を干潟表面に押し上げるため，表面はみみずばれのように見える。鹿児島県種子島から琉球列島各地に生息する個体群は，2010年に東アジア産の種とは別種とされた。なおミナミコメツキガニ科は 1属 5種からなり，群れをなして歩くという生態から兵隊ガニ soldier crabあるいは軍隊ガニ army crabと総称される。（→甲殻類，十脚類，節足動物，軟甲類）

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