Metopograpsus thukuhar (Owen, 1839)

Naderloo, Reza & Türkay, Michael, 2012, Decapod crustaceans of the littoral and shallow sublittoral Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf: Faunistics, Biodiversity and Zoogeography 3374, Zootaxa 3374 (1), pp. 1-67 : 46

Metopograpsus thukuhar (Owen, 1839)

Persian Gulf. UAE ( Al-Ghais & Cooper 1996; Hornby 1997), Iran (Naderloo 2011; present study).

Iran. Hormozgan Province: Qeshm I. (mangroves of Naghasheh and Tabl), Bandar-Khamir . Bushehr Province: Khalij-Nayband.

General distribution. Indo-West Pacific: South Africa, East Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Pakistan, India, Vietnam, China, Japan, Cocos-Keeling Is., Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland), Tahiti, Hawaiian Is.

Habitat. Mangroves.

Remarks. Metopograpsus thukuhar is a widely distributed species in Indo-West Pacific and has been well documented by several authors (e.g. Crosnier 1965; Holthuis 1977; Vannini & Valmori 1981; Tirmizi & Ghani 1996). This species is distinguishable from its sympatric congener in the region, M. messor , using several distinct characteristics which are provided together with biological accounts of the species by Naderloo (2011).