Tree-climbing mangrove crabs of Karwar west coast of India

Abstract

Several species of the mangrove brachyuran crab families of Sesarmidae and Grapsidae are known to climb mangrove trees. They show diverse degrees of dependence on arboreal life, only few of them thriving in the tree canopies and feeding on fresh leaves. Some of the Sesarmid tree dwelling crabs share a number of morphological characters. The tree climbing crab included Karwar (6-stations) arboreal crab species with several representatives of ground-living forms. In spite of the large ecological study of tree-climbing mangrove Sesarmid crabs in other countries, the Karwar mangrove tree crab representatives appear to have not been investigated extensively. This paper presents on the nature of the crab habitats, arboreal climbing behavior in different mangrove areas of Karwar.