Ocypode gaudichaudii
Ocypode gaudichaudii, also known as the painted ghost crab or cart driver crab, is a species of crab found on Pacific beaches from El Salvador to Chile as well as on the Galápagos Islands. The species was first described by Henri Milne-Edwards and Hippolyte Lucas in 1843.
| Ocypode gaudichaudii | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Ocypodidae |
| Genus: | Ocypode |
| Species: | O. gaudichaudii |
| Binomial name | |
| Ocypode gaudichaudii H. Milne-Edwards & H. Lucas, 1843 | |
They are diurnal crustaceans that display a red-orange color with sandy dots across the back of the carapace.
They are described with three distinct feeding behaviors that vary based on food source and development: as deposit feeders, scavengers, and predators. In all methods of feeding, visual clues and chemosensory are used to locate potential food. Their diet includes organic matter within sand, live organisms, and dead matter from both ocean and terrestrial sources.
In Peru, this crab is the host of the acanthocephalan parasite Neoandracantha peruensis.