// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Ranina ranina say? I'm shell-shocked.
| Ranina ranina | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Raninidae |
| Genus: | Ranina |
| Species: | R. ranina |
| Binomial name | |
| Ranina ranina | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |

Ranina ranina, also known as the Huỳnh Đế crab,[2] (red) frog crab or spanner crab,[3] is a species of crab[4] found throughout tropical and subtropical habitats.[5] It is often fished for its meat.[6]
Description
[edit]It may grow up to 15.0 centimetres (5.9 in) long, and may weigh up to 900 grams (2.0 lb).[7] The carapace is wider at the front, reddish brown in color, with ten white spots.[5] Ranina ranina is mainly nocturnal, and remains buried in the sand during the day.[3] Ranina ranina is easily distinguished from other crab species in its habitat due to its red carapace and elongated midsection.[7]
Distribution and ecology
[edit]Spanner crabs inhabit coastal waters along the east coast of Australia, from Yeppoon in Queensland to the North coast of New South Wales. There is also a population to the north of Perth in Western Australia.[7] Ranina ranina is abundant in the coastal waters of south-western Mindanao, Philippines. These crabs are also found in the eastern coast of Africa, across the Indian Ocean to Indonesia, Japan and Hawaii and Vietnam.[8]
Ranina ranina inhabits depths of 10–100 metres (33–328 ft) on sandy-smooth substrata in which they bury themselves from where they attack small bottom-dwelling fish.[9] When waiting for prey, Ranina ranina will cover itself with sand, but leave its eye and mouthparts sticking out to help detect its food.[3] Offshore areas within this range in a subtropical or tropical environment serves as a habitat for Ranina ranina, but they must have ample sand for Ranina ranina to flourish, as covering themselves in sand is instrumental in their method of catching prey.
Fishery
[edit]The species is commercially exploited over much of its range, but the largest fishery is in Australia, where the annual commercial catch an estimated at 3,592 tonnes (7,919,000 lb).[5][10] In Queensland, only adults above 100 mm (3.9 in) carapace length may be landed.[11] In the Philippines in 2008, prices for Ranina ranina were around 200–300 pesos per kilogram.[5] Ranina ranina populations have been surveyed to avoid overfishing and are currently stable.[12]
Although Ranina ranina is a target of commercial fishing operations, little is known about the species' biology, population dynamics and ecology.[11] Attempts have been made to grow Ranina ranina in captivity, but have so far been met with little success.[3]
Culinary use
[edit]Ranina ranina is a regional specialty in some regions of the Philippines where it is known as curacha. It is generally eaten steamed as halabos, or cooked in coconut milk as ginataan. A notable variant of the latter is the curacha Alavar of Zamboanga City.[13][14]
In Vietnam the species is named as "Huỳnh Đế crab", which literally means "emperor crab". The names refer to the fact that R. ranina is one of the favorite high-ranked cuisine of historical Vietnamese monarchs.[15] It is the delicacy harvested in the provinces Bình Định and Quảng Ngãi, and is hailed "monarch of all the crab".[16]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Ranina ranina". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ↑ Crustacean diversity in Vietnam's coral reef
- 1 2 3 4 Phyu Phyu Than; Taizo Sakata; Kazuhisa Hamada; Keinosuke Imaizumi (1999). "Characteristics of dominant microflora in aquaculture tanks of juvenile red frog crab, Ranina ranina" (PDF). Memoirs of the Faculty of Fisheries: 1–6.
- ↑ S. L. Slattery; A. L. Ford & S. M. Nottingham (1992). "Cooking methods for spanner crabs Ranina ranina (L) and their effect on cadmium residues". Food Australia. 44 (5): 206–210.
- 1 2 3 4 Oliver D. Tito & Jonalyn P. Alanano (2008). "Some aspects of fisheries and biology of spanner crab (Ranina ranina, Linnaeus) in Maluso, Basilan Province, Philippines" (PDF). Memoirs of the Faculty of Fisheries: 40–48.
- ↑ Peter K. L. Ng; Danièle Guinot & Peter J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 17: 1–286. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
- 1 2 3 "Spanner crab Ranina ranina". Fishing and Aquaculture. New South Wales Department of Primary Industries. 2005. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
- ↑ Juliana C. Baylon & Oliver D. Tito (2012) “Natural diet and feeding habits of the red frog crab (Ranina ranina) from southwestern Mindanao, Philippines” Philip. Agric. Scientist Vol. 95 No. 4, 391–398.
- ↑ Sydney Fish Market, “Species information: Spanner Crab” (2013) www.sydneyfishmarket.com
- ↑ Queensland Fisheries (2010) “Stock Status of Queensland's Fisheries Resources 2009-10” Queensland Australia: Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. 65
- 1 2 J. M. Kirkwood; I. W. Brown; S. W. Gaddes; S. Hoyle (2005). "Juvenile length-at-age data reveal that spanner crabs (Ranina ranina) grow slowly". Marine Biology. 147 (2): 331–339. doi:10.1007/s00227-005-1574-0. S2CID 85319322.
- ↑ J. McGilvray, I. Brown, E. Jebreen & D. Smallwood (2006) Fisheries Long Term Monitoring Program Summary of spanner crab (Ranina ranina) survey results: 2000-2005. Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland, QI06095, Brisbane, Australia.
- ↑ Clavite, Harold E. "Homecoming: Food and country". Philippine Information Agency. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ↑ "Halabos na Curacha". Panlasang Pinoy Meaty Recipes. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ↑ Huỳnh đế - đệ nhất cua biển giá "chát" vẫn được chuộng
- ↑ "Cua huỳnh đế". 10 February 2012.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Ranina ranina at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Ranina ranina at Wikispecies