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Fiddler Crab, Nariva Swamp, Trinidad

My friends and I saw this crab when we were visiting the Nariva Swamp on Day 6 of our holiday on the islands of Trinidad & Tobago. Nariva Swamp is on the east side of Trinidad. I believe it is a male Fiddler Crab.

"Fiddler crabs communicate by a sequence of waves and gestures; males have an oversized claw or chela; used in clashes of ritualised combat of courtship over a female and signal their intentions between conspecifics. The movement of the smaller claw from ground to mouth during feeding explains the crabs' common name; it looks as if the animal were playing the larger claw like a fiddle.

The crab's smaller claw picks up a chunk of sediment from the ground and brings it to the mouth, where its contents are sifted through (making the crab a detritivore). After anything edible is salvaged, be it algae, microbes, fungus, or other decaying detritus, the sediment is replaced in the form of a little ball. The presence of these sediment balls near the entrance to a burrow is a good indication of its occupation. Some experts believe that the feeding habits of fiddler crabs play a vital role in the preservation of wetland environments; by sifting through the sands, they aerate the substrate and prevent anaerobic conditions." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler_crab
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