Abstract
The taxonomy of the 11 species of fiddler crabs [Uca (Uca) maracoani (Latreille, 1802-1803), U. (U.) tangeri (Eydoux, 1835), U. (Minuca) burgersi Holthuis, 1967, U. (M.) mordax (Smith, 1870), U. (M.) rapax (Smith, 1870), U. (M.) thayeri Rathbun, 1900, U. (M.) victoriana von Hagen, 1987, U. (M.) vocator (Herbst, 1804), U. (Leptuca) cumulanta Crane, 1943, U. (L.) leptodactyla Rathbun, 1898 and U. (L.) uruguayensis Nobili, 1901] of the South Atlantic Ocean is reviewed. Keys for identification, updating the keys for the Atlantic Ocean are proposed, including the species recently described. Comments reporting morphological variations among types and additional material and among populations of different localities are included. The Atlantic species are divided into three subgenera: Uca s. str., Minuca and Leptuca. The eastern Atlantic species U. (U.)tangeri is included in subgenus Uca s. str. due to the presence of a proximal spine opposing the spoon-tipped setae of the second maxilliped, which is considered an apomorphic character of the subgenus Uca s. str.
Highlights
Since the monumental work of Crane (1975), several taxonomic changes have been proposed in the taxonomy of fiddler crabs (Uca Leach, 1814)
Due to problems of the subspecies concept adopted, the subsequent authors treated all morphs as valid species
The taxonomy of particular Atlantic faunas was given by Abele and Kim (1986) for the Florida species, Rodriguez (1980) for those of Venezuela and Melo (1996) for those of Brazil
Summary
Since the monumental work of Crane (1975), several taxonomic changes have been proposed in the taxonomy of fiddler crabs (Uca Leach, 1814). Crane (1975) listed 92 species and subspecies. The taxonomy of particular Atlantic faunas was given by Abele and Kim (1986) for the Florida species, Rodriguez (1980) for those of Venezuela and Melo (1996) for those of Brazil These contributions are related to several groups of decapods, and fiddler crabs. Some morphological structures of fiddler crabs are difficult to check and the lack of detailed figures showing these characteres make the identification of some species a challenge. In this way, new keys of identification and figures for the species of the South Atlantic Ocean are presented . This contribution does not intend to present an exhaustive description of the South Atlantic species of Uca, but to provide an updated summary of the species in order to facilitate their identification, especially from Brazilian species
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