Sunrise in the mangroves is a dream! I’ve learnt so much about them over the past few weeks and it’s amazing sitting here watching all the burrowing crabs emerge from their burrows and sassily throw sand around!As soon as I move, all the crabs return to their burrows, so I have no photos… but now…
Category: Crustaceans
Heart Shaped Predator
Phyllolithodes papillosus Brandt, 1848 Apart from the obvious delicacy and beauty of this specimen, which overwhelmed me when I first saw it, it was actually the ‘u’ shaped depression in the middle of the dorsal side of this specimen that caught my eye. It looks spectacular and, now that the specimen is bleached of it’s…
WWII and the introduction of Barnacles
I came across a group of specimens in a box, with a starry label on the glass reading ‘Little Grebe’. As a Grebe is a type of bird, I was slightly confused by this. I decided to look into whether this was relating to the specimen, and found a piece of paper in the box…
Barnacles and sponges
Barnacles are also part of the Crustacea subphylum. The only time I have been exposed to and/or looked into the detail of barnacles was on a Marine Biology field course to Millport, Scotland in June 2012. I studied the Chthalmus genus of barnacle, and their orientation to the coast. Below is a photograph I took…
Chelicerata Vs. Crustacea
The horseshoe crab, scientific name Limulus polyphemus (Linnaeus, 1758), is part of the chelicerata subphylum not the crustacea. There is a species of this amongst the crustacean the collection here at the Manchester Museum, which is what lead me to research more into this subphylum. Differences which set chelicerata apart from crustaceans include chelicerata having…
The process of updating nomenclature
When updating the nomenclature of specimens at the museum, I must read many articles and check catalogues and checklists to find the correct combination of genus and species, as well as the higher classification of each specimen. There are many ‘easy’ specimens, which are listed in many checklists and I can be sure they are…
Mass aggregation saves the day
Whilst going throught the Crustacean collection here at the museum, I have come across a rather interesting species, scientific name Leptomithrax gaimardii, common name the giant spider crab. I like to look into the species that I am describing to gather some history about them, but also to make sure I’ve got the right name…
Identifying Crustaceans
Originally posted on Beach Chair Scientist:
Ever know instinctively that some animals are ‘related’ and just can’t pinpoint their similarities? On the third day of every month I explain three features that are common among three animals of a certain group. Of course, generally each group has more than three representatives and even many more…
Minibeasts & Me
On Saturday 28th April, there was a “minibeasts & me” event at the Manchester Museum, where all different departments from the museum came together to show the public what the museum is really about. There were people eating locusts dipped in chocolate, kids holding cockroaches, stick insects and millipedes, and one table displayed fossilised termites…
Crab species of Manchester Museum
1. Halimus truncatipes – Found in low intertidal, rock reefs of Australia. [Davie, P.J.F. (2002) Zoological Catalogue of Australia, CSIRO, Volume 19, p306] 2. Hyas araneus , or the Great Spider Crab, can reach a length of 11-12 cm and is usually brown. This species has characteristic hooks on both sides of the head to…
ZoologyMolly 