Why is this Little Crab like a Ghost in the sand (Ocypode kuhlii)

Hello Steemian Friends all.

How are you guys today? well of course. we will continue our discussion today about an expert crab in disguise in the sand of the sea. many people love to enjoy the beach atmosphere. a fun place for recreation with family. the beach is a unique ecosystem because it is between the sea and the land. this coastal ecosystem has many interesting species living and foraging in the coastal area.

the beach area of Indonesia especially Aceh has a lot of biodiversity that has not been fully identified. this is due to the vastness of coastal ecosystems that surround the island nation. today we will discuss about a unique animal capable of camouflage in its habitat. in Indonesia this animal named Gelenteng Pasir (Ocypode kuhlii).

this crab-shaped animal has a very fast moving ability on the sand and is smaller than most crabs. so if you want to catch him you should try harder. this animal will try to trick you into the hole in the sand even though the hole is not hers. because this animal has a habit to find food away from the hole hers. when the tide occurs this animal will find a higher place as a hole.

this animal is able to create holes within a radius of 200 meters from the coastline. when you walk in the day you will not find out who the perpetrator or the owner of the hole. you will see them in the afternoon because at that time the Ocypode returns to its hole. because it has a pale color like sand grains and nocturnal capability and can appear suddenly this is what causes Ocypode Kuhli often disebu ghost crab.

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Why it's called Ochypode Kuhlii ?

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Ocypode Kuhlii (Sand Castle) is a species of ghost crab but has small claws on both of its claws. TheK uhlii Ocypode has eight legs and is able to move quickly over the sand. Because it is able to move with agile so named Ocypode which means a legged animal agile. While the name kuhli taken from the name of Heinrich Kuhl (1797 - 1821) a German scientist.

Ocypode Kuhlii has a stemmed eye with a freckled color of the body like sand. making it easier to disguise the sand beach area. The specimens I found were about 40 mm small. this animal's legs have no hairs alias bald. Ocypode Kuhli's habit of making a nest in the sand by hollowing it.

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How is the scientific classification?

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Kingdom	Animalia
Filum	Arthropoda
Sub Filum	Crustacea
Class	Malacostraca
Ordo	Decapoda
Infra Ordo	Brachyura
Family	Ocypodidae
Genus	Ocypode
Species	O. kuhlii

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What are the benefits of Ocypode Kuhli?

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Ocypode Kuhli is very useful in ecosystems as users of fish carcasses in their habitats. In Indonesia Ocypode Kuhli is used by the community as a food source so exploitation of small crabs is often done. But it is necessary to study the content of animal nutrition is safe to eat. If you are interested in trying foods from these animals you can try them on the southern coast of Java.

another benefit of Ocypode Kuhlii is that it offers a practical advantage to estimate the health status or degree of anthropogenic impacts on the coast due to their occurrence and abundance in many beaches and their density can be estimated relatively quickly by calculating the opening of burrows that can be achieved within a narrow time. because of the disturbed density of the Ocypode Kuhlii population often decreases.

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Where is Photos Taken?

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I took a photo taking on the coast of north aceh region, precisely in coastal area Ujong blang Lhokseumawe City. At coordinates 293747.00 m E and 575287.00 m N zone 47 on the WGS datum 1984. location is a dense urban area so that the population of Ocypode Kuhlii sudang starts to decline. this indicates that the coastal area of northern Aceh has been polluted and unhealthy resulting in the decline of this haunted crab populations.

_{The picture is taken with Google Earth Software}

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Conclusion

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Ocypode Kuhlii is a nocturnal animal and has the ability to disappear on the sand due to its color patterns such as sand and pale color. a vivacious movement in this animal causes his name is called Ocypode or agile legged animals. This animal is one of the food sources in south coast of Java. the ability to disappear and appear suddenly makes it also called a ghost crab.

the hole density of Ocypode Kuhlii in the coastal area can be used as an indicator in the study to see the health and anthropogenic impacts on coastal coasts. because of the disturbed density of the Ocypode Kuhlii population often decreases.

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Thank you for reading

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I hope this posting is useful for you and hope you enjoy my post. Do not hesitate to comment, because I will try to answer it as best I can.

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Take a look at this Video Record

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Source

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1. https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geleteng_pasir
2. http://www.sealifebase.org/summary/Ocypode-kuhlii.html
3. http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/blogs/museummarine/creature-feature-haunted-beaches-fleet-footed-ghost-crabs
4. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/mejs/article/download/67715/56348

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