Ocypode cursor
Creators: name: Santín, Andreu
name: Aguilar, Ricardo
name: Akyol, Okan
name: Begburs, Cenkmen Ramazan
name: Benoit, Laure
name: Crocetta, Giovanni Chimienti Fabio
name: Dalyan, Cem
name: Rubio, Antonio De La Linde
name: Dragičević, Branko
name: Dulčić, Jakov
name: Giglio, Gianni
name: Gönülal, Onur
name: Kebapcioglu, Turhan
name: Kesici, Nur Bikem
name: Kiparissis, Sotiris
name: Kousteni, Vasiliki
name: Mancini, Emanuele
name: Mastrototaro, Francesco
name: Menut, Thomas
name: Montesanto, Federica
name: Peristeraki, Panagiota
name: Poursanidis, Dimitris
name: Renoult, Julien P.
name: Sánchez-Tocino, Luis
name: Sperone, Emilio
name: Tiralongo, Francesco
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Decapoda
Ocypodidae
Ocypode
Ocypode cursor

description: 1.5. Ocypode cursor (Linnaeus, 1758) expands its range along the Mediterranean coasts: first record from the Tyrrhenian Sea and a new record from the Ionian Sea   
Francesco TIRALONGO and Emanuele MANCINI  
 Crabs of the family Ocypodidae Rafinesque, 1815 are semi-terrestrial species, common on sandy beaches and on mudflats of tropical, subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. These crabs are characterized by a narrow front, long eyestalks and smooth (or ridged) dactyls in walking legs. In the Mediterranean Sea, Ocypode cursor (Linnaeus, 1758) is the only member of the Ocypodidae family (Strachan et al., 1999). Furthermore, it represents a protected taxon (Deidun et al., 2017). In Sicily mainland, the species was recorded for the first time in 2009 at Sampieri, subsequently expanding its range along the entire south coast and in the southeastern one (Relini, 2009; Mytilineou et al., 2016; Deidun et al., 2017; Tiralongo et al., 2020c). We present the first records of the species for Calabria, with the first record from the Tyrrhenian Sea (northwesternmost record in the Mediterranean Sea) and a new record from the Ionian Sea. On 24 th July 2020, an adult specimen of O. cursor was observed at Palmi (Southwestern Calabria, Tyrrhenian Sea, 38.39467° N, 15.86195° E) (Fig. 6A). On 26 th July 2020, several specimens (juveniles and adults) and burrows of O. cursor were observed at the beach of Pizzo Greco, north to Capo Rizzuto (eastern Calabria, Ionian Sea, 38.92192° N, 17.12420° E) (Fig. 6 B-C). The present records increase the knowledge on the distribution of the species in Italy and in the Mediterranean Sea. After the 2016, the species undergone a rapid expansion of its range along Italian coasts, where in a few years it was recorded in several locations of the southern and southeastern coast of Sicily and in Apulia (Tiralongo et al., 2020c). Moreover, while along the Ionian coast of Calabria the species was observed on sand with a similar granulometry to that observed in Sicily and Apulia, in the Tyrrhenian Sea the species was observed on coarser sand. These observations suggest that O. cursor is able to adapt to a habitat with suboptimal conditions were digging holes can be harder than on thinner sand. Further studies are necessary in order to better understand the expanding dynamics of this semi-terrestrial species in the Mediterranean Sea. However, considering its colonization success, it is probable that in a few years this species will expands in several new Mediterranean areas.   
 Medit. Mar. Sci., 22/1, 2021, 199-217 207
description: Published as part of Santín, Andreu, Aguilar, Ricardo, Akyol, Okan, Begburs, Cenkmen Ramazan, Benoit, Laure, Crocetta, Giovanni Chimienti Fabio, Dalyan, Cem, Rubio, Antonio De La Linde, Dragičević, Branko, Dulčić, Jakov, Giglio, Gianni, Gönülal, Onur, Kebapcioglu, Turhan, Kesici, Nur Bikem, Kiparissis, Sotiris, Kousteni, Vasiliki, Mancini, Emanuele, Mastrototaro, Francesco, Menut, Thomas, Montesanto, Federica, Peristeraki, Panagiota, Poursanidis, Dimitris, Renoult, Julien P., Sánchez-Tocino, Luis, Sperone, Emilio & Tiralongo, Francesco, 2021, New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Sea (March 2021), pp. 199-217 in Mediterranean Marine Science 22 (1) on page 207, DOI: 10.12681/mms.25295, http://zenodo.org/record/11989001