Family : Portunidae

Scientific name :	Scylla serrata
English name :	Mangrove crab, Mud Crab
Creole name :	Krab manglye (Crabe manglier)
Name origin:	Mythology : A horrible six-headed monster, she has three rows of teeth in each head, which is atop a very long neck (the better to reach out and grab you, my dear!). She hides half-way in a cave, but every time something good to eat approaches -- be it a fish or a sailor! -- she goes after them!
Family :	Portunidae
Islands :	Mahe, Praslin
Ecology :
Habitat :	Mangroves
Diet :	Carnivorous
Activity :	nocturnal
Burrowing :	Can dig burrows up to 2 m deep
Description :
Size :
Differences in sexes :	Males are larger than females. Shape of the abdomen.
Pictures :
	Photo from J.Poupin : Crustacea Decapoda and Stomatopoda of French Polynesia

   Genus : Charybdis

     Species : Charybdis helleri A.M. Edwards, 1867

Scientific name :	Charybdis helleri A.M. Edwards, 1867
English name :	Pacific Swimming Crab
Name origin:	Mythology : Lives underneath the water, creating a whirlpool when she swallows the water and then spouts it back. In short, she makes things pretty rough for sailors!
Family :	Portunidae
Distribution :
Seychelles :	Mahe, Praslin
World :	Charybdis helleri lives throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific area from the east coast of Africa to Hawaii. It also has become established in the eastern Mediterranean Sea by traversing the Suez Canal. The species apparently invaded the western Atlantic Ocean in the late 1980s. It was first discovered on the north coast of Cuba in 1987 and has since been found off the coasts of Colombia and Venezuela. (Lemaitre, 1995)
Ecology :
Habitat :	Mangroves. Adults prefer soft substrates but are also found on rocky bottom and among living coral.
Diet :
Activity :
Burrowing :
Description :
Size :	Males can be twelve centimeters wide across the back.
Picture :
Differences in sexes :
Reproduction :	Females can carry between 22,000 and 292,000 eggs. The larvae have never been described. However, similar species of Charybdis have 5-6 planktonic zoeal stages and one postlarval stage. (Lemaitre, 1995)

   Genus : Thalamita

     Species : Thalamita crenata (H. Milne Edwards, 1834)

Ecology :
Habitat :	Mangroves, Coastal waters (Anse La Mouche)
Diet :	25 % Herbivorous, stomach contents : Algae, Anomura, Brachyura and other Crustacea, Bivalvia, Foraminifera, Gastropoda, Pisces, Polychaeta, Polyplacofora, mangrove detritus and sand (Farid Dahbouh-Guebas, Kenya) Stomach fullness and the relative presence of animal prey in the contents were significantly higher in crabs collected at sunset than in those caught at dawn. Stomach fullness seems to depend also on the tidal rhythm; in fact, it is higher during spring tide periods. Females had stomachs slightly fuller than those of males, while there was no difference in diets between juveniles and older specimens (Cannicci et al, 1996).
Activity :	forages more actively during daytime, thus differing from the majority of swimming crabs
Burrowing :
Description :
Size :
Handedness :	None.
Differences in sexes :	only the shape of the abdomen
Picture :	Anse à la Mouche, Mahé

     Species : Thalamita picta (Stimpson, 1858)

Scientific name :	Thalamita picta
Family :	Portunidae
Islands :	Mahe, Aride (Anderson, 1994)
Ecology :
Habitat :	Intertidal reefs, rocky pools
Diet :
Activity :
Description :	5 anterolateral spines on each side, 8 rostral teeth.
Size :	Carapax width : 10-12 mm, Carapax length : 14-18 mm, total length cheliped : 9-11 mm, length pincers : 3-4 mm, eyestalk length : 0.5-1 mm, width between eyestalks : 9-10 mm.
Colour :	Carapax top : green, red and white, Cheliped : white, red, black, Legs : green, red, white.
Handedness :	None.
Differences in sexes :	only the shape of the abdomen
Picture :
Reproduction :	Once a berried female was found with bright orange eggs.