Jeff Goddard, USA
Info
The orange pebble crab (Platypodiella rotundata) belongs to the family Xanthidae, which are also known as gorilla crabs, mud crabs, pebble crabs or rubble crabs.The vast majority of crabs are highly venomous and it has only been proven in a few cases how the crustaceans got their venom.
It was found in Costa Rica on a Tubastraea coccinea, under a colonial Palythoa crust anemone, in dead barnacles, under medium-sized stones between gravel around Revillagigedo.It is suspected that the crab uses the toxic crust anemone as a food source and stores the anemone's venom in its body.
Excursus.
The task of scientists is to develop hypotheses and to verify or falsify these through experimentation.
Scientists at the Universidad de La Laguna, Spain, had set themselves the task of proving that the crab Platypodiella picta had acquired the ability to poison, so they brought together 60 crabs with two native Palythoa species, Palythoa caribaeorum and Palythoa aff. clavata, in laboratory experiments for five days.
Result:
The results of this study showed that Platypodiella picta is an active predator of Palythoa species.
The experimental colonies of the zoanthids showed a significant weight loss in the presence of Platypodiella rotundata for Palythoa aff. clavata and Palythoa caribaeorum, which was even more pronounced in the case of Palythoa caribaeorum!
For example, specimens of Platypodiella spectabilis were found to have enormous concentrations of palytoxin in their body tissue, an extremely toxic compound found in zoanthids, mainly of the genus Palythoa!
For those interested, the following can be read here:
https://www.frontiersin.org/10.3389%2Fconf.fmars.2019.08.00160/event_abstract
Many species of the family Xanthidae can be poisonous, although they themselves have no poisonous apparatus (poisonous teeth, poisonous spines, poisonous glands in the skin), the consumption of these crustaceans can even be fatal for humans. Such animals are considered passive-poisonous.
The toxins of crabs (saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin) are produced by endobacteria and stored in the flesh of the crab, these e are highly potent and similar to the neurotoxins of puffer fish and just as deadly.
In its raw and cooked meat, consumption of the crab meat is toxic to humans!
Please be sure to clarify whether the meat of these crabs is toxic or non-toxic before eating it!
Call an emergency doctor immediately at the first signs of poisoning (e.g. breathing problems, muscle cramps)!
The good news is there’s no way you can be exposed to these toxins if you don’t try to eat these crabs – a bite or a jab isn’t going to do the job.
The bad news for those who unwittingly consume these crabs is that cooking the meat isn’t going to make the toxins any less effective.
Fortunately, toxic crabs don’t want to be eaten just as much as we shouldn’t be eating them, so they help us out with their glorious warning colours.
Synonyms:
Atergatis cristatissimo Lockington, 1877 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Atergatis rotundatus Stimpson, 1860 · unaccepted > superseded combination
It was found in Costa Rica on a Tubastraea coccinea, under a colonial Palythoa crust anemone, in dead barnacles, under medium-sized stones between gravel around Revillagigedo.It is suspected that the crab uses the toxic crust anemone as a food source and stores the anemone's venom in its body.
Excursus.
The task of scientists is to develop hypotheses and to verify or falsify these through experimentation.
Scientists at the Universidad de La Laguna, Spain, had set themselves the task of proving that the crab Platypodiella picta had acquired the ability to poison, so they brought together 60 crabs with two native Palythoa species, Palythoa caribaeorum and Palythoa aff. clavata, in laboratory experiments for five days.
Result:
The results of this study showed that Platypodiella picta is an active predator of Palythoa species.
The experimental colonies of the zoanthids showed a significant weight loss in the presence of Platypodiella rotundata for Palythoa aff. clavata and Palythoa caribaeorum, which was even more pronounced in the case of Palythoa caribaeorum!
For example, specimens of Platypodiella spectabilis were found to have enormous concentrations of palytoxin in their body tissue, an extremely toxic compound found in zoanthids, mainly of the genus Palythoa!
For those interested, the following can be read here:
https://www.frontiersin.org/10.3389%2Fconf.fmars.2019.08.00160/event_abstract
Many species of the family Xanthidae can be poisonous, although they themselves have no poisonous apparatus (poisonous teeth, poisonous spines, poisonous glands in the skin), the consumption of these crustaceans can even be fatal for humans. Such animals are considered passive-poisonous.
The toxins of crabs (saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin) are produced by endobacteria and stored in the flesh of the crab, these e are highly potent and similar to the neurotoxins of puffer fish and just as deadly.
In its raw and cooked meat, consumption of the crab meat is toxic to humans!
Please be sure to clarify whether the meat of these crabs is toxic or non-toxic before eating it!
Call an emergency doctor immediately at the first signs of poisoning (e.g. breathing problems, muscle cramps)!
The good news is there’s no way you can be exposed to these toxins if you don’t try to eat these crabs – a bite or a jab isn’t going to do the job.
The bad news for those who unwittingly consume these crabs is that cooking the meat isn’t going to make the toxins any less effective.
Fortunately, toxic crabs don’t want to be eaten just as much as we shouldn’t be eating them, so they help us out with their glorious warning colours.
Synonyms:
Atergatis cristatissimo Lockington, 1877 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Atergatis rotundatus Stimpson, 1860 · unaccepted > superseded combination
