Species Diversity, Abundance and Distribution of Coral Crabs Family Tetraliidae Castro, Ng & Ahyong, 2004 and Trapeziidae Miers, 1886 along the Coral Reefs of Thailand
Abstract
The coral crab plays a vital role in the sustainability of hard corals by preventing them from being consumed by crown-of-thorns starfish. They feed on mucus and organic matter and remove sediment covering the corals. This helps to maintain the health of the corals and prevent bleaching. Studies on coral crabs in Thailand's coral reefs identified a total of 2 families, 3 genera, and 15 species. This included the Tetraliidae family with one genus, Tetralia, having 4 species, and the Trapeziidae family with two genera, Trapezia and Quadrella, having 7 and 4 species respectively. The most abundant found and dominant species distributed widely along both the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman coast was Trapezia cymodoce. Meanwhile, Tetralia nigrolineata was the common species from Tetralia and was widely distributed along both coasts. Quadrella was less abundant and considered rare species, primarily found along the Andaman coral reefs. Notably, Quadrella boopsi might be the first reported of Thailand. The coral reefs on the Gulf of Thailand side have fewer coral crab species than the Andaman side, with 7 and 15 species respectively. Coral reefs with a diverse and abundant presence of coral crabs include Mu Ko Surin National Park, Mu Ko Similan National Park, and Ko Racha Noi.References
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