Ovalipes punctatus, Sand crab : fisheries

Ovalipes punctatus   (De Haan, 1833)

Sand crab
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Malacostraca | Decapoda | Portunidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 42 - 130 m (Ref. 132434).  Subtropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Southern Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 9.5 cm CW male/unsexed; (Ref. 343)

Short description Morphology

Carapace rounded, surfaces finely granular, appearing almost smooth; 4 well-developed teeth on each anterolateral margin; stridulatory ridges present on ventral surface of palm. Color: carapace reddish brown to maroon, margins lighter colored; dactylus of fourth walking leg bluish purple.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Subtidal, to depths reaching 130 meters. On substrates ranging from fine sand, muddy sand, to shell fragments (Ref. 132434). Usually, only the chelae are sold in the markets. Subtropical climate.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the order Decapoda are mostly gonochoric. Mating behavior: Precopulatory courtship ritual is common (through olfactory and tactile cues); usually indirect sperm transfer.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Ng, P.K.L. 1998 Crabs. p. 1045-1155. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 2. Cephalopods, crustaceans, holothurians and sharks. Rome, FAO. 1998. pp. 687-1396. (Ref. 343)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
| FishSource |

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Trophic Ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Fecundity
Spawning
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Physiology
Oxygen consumption
Human Related
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Pictures
References
References

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

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