Figure 018. Minuca minax

Creator

Abby Hutchins, University of Northern IowaFollow
Amber Finke, University of Northern IowaFollow
Carl L. Thurman, University of Northern IowaFollow

Preview

Identifier

Figure 18

Medium

photograph

Date Created

5-2025

Keywords

Fiddler crabs;

Description

Alt Text: Composite photograph of the Minuca minax fiddler crab which includes several black & white images of different views of the crab, a color photograph, and a distribution map.

Composite Image Description: Figure 18. Minuca minax (LeConte, 1855). UNI 562. Collected: Gulf of Mexico, United States, Louisiana, Iberia Parish, Louisa, intracoastal canal bridge on HWY 319 (29.771180, -91.784839). Range: East coast of United States (Cape Cod, MA to northeast Florida) and Gulf coast (west Florida to east Texas). Scale bar = 10mm. (A) Dorsal view. (B) Front view. (C) Inner cheliped. (D) Ocular view. (E) Ambulatory. (F) Comparison of legs between M. minax and M. longisignalis. (G) Color Photo. (H) Distribution Map (Finke 2024).

Species Description: Large species < 39 mm; carapace length 69% width. Frontal region about 40% carapace width (Fig. 18A). Eyestalks very short. Antero-later angle not sharp and turned inward. Lateral margins strongly curve to mid-line of carapace. Dactyl and pollex very thick, heavy appearing (Fig. 18B, C). Articulation joints usually with red pigment (Fig. 18G). Gap large. Dactyl with numerous tubercles along length. Pollex with large central tubercle. Tubercles at distal end forming trifurcation. Upper manus with very large tubercles. Inner manus with definite oblique ridge with tubercles to carpal cavity (Fig. 18C). Ambulatory legs with slim merus; width 39% length. Dorsal surface with thick pile or pubescence. Ventral surface without pile or bristles but numerous long setae (Fig. 18E,F). Species distribution within USA along both Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts (Fig. 18H). In the northern Gulf of Mexico, this species is often confused with M. longisignalis. M. longisignalis has wider merus and pubescence and pile on underside merus (Fig. 18F). Oblique ridge is more distinct in M. minax (Fig. 18C).

Comments

This composite image is of the Minuca minax fiddler crab. It is a part of the parent Fiddler Crabs Image Gallery collection at the University of Northern Iowa, which has images of Fiddler Crabs located in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico from the following genera: Afruca, Leptuca, Minuca, and Uca.

Object Description

1 PNG file

UNI Specimen Number

UNI 562

Year Collected

Question - What year collected?

Collection Location

29.771180, -91.784839

Gender

male

Copyright

©2025 Abby Hutchins, Amber Finke, and Carl L. Thurman

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Type

Image

Language

en

File Format

image/png

Recommended Citation

Hutchins, Abby; Finke, Amber; and Thurman, Carl L., "Figure 018. Minuca minax" (2025). Fiddler Crabs Image Gallery. 11.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/fiddlercrabs/11