Main Page: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 34: | Line 34: | ||
| style="width:50%; vertical-align:top; padding:10px; background:#f5fff8; border:1px solid #9bd3a8; flex:1; min-width:300px;" | | | style="width:50%; vertical-align:top; padding:10px; background:#f5fff8; border:1px solid #9bd3a8; flex:1; min-width:300px;" | | ||
<h3 style="padding:3px 7px; margin:8px 0; background-color:#CEF2E0;">Today's Featured Article</h3>[[File:Ovalipes catharus dorsal plate.jpg| | <h3 style="padding:3px 7px; margin:8px 0; background-color:#CEF2E0;">Today's Featured Article</h3> | ||
[[File:Ovalipes catharus dorsal plate.jpg|thumb|left|200px]] | |||
'''''[[wikipedia:Ovalipes_catharus|Ovalipes catharus]]''''', commonly known as the paddle crab, swimming crab, or ''pāpaka'' in Māori, is a species of crab found in shallow, sandy-bottomed waters around the coasts of New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and uncommonly in southern Australia. This species is an opportunistic, aggressive, and versatile feeder active mostly at night, preying predominantly on molluscs and crustaceans. It is also highly prone to cannibalism, which accounts for over a quarter of its diet in some locations. The crab's paddle-shaped rear legs and streamlined carapace allow it to capture prey by swimming rapidly and to escape predation by burrowing in the sand. Its mating season is in winter and spring, after which the female likely moves into deeper waters to incubate and disperse her larvae. Commercial fisheries have harvested paddle crabs since the 1970s, and ''O. catharus'' is present in Māori culture as both an artistic motif and as a traditional source of food. ''('''[[wikipedia:Ovalipes_catharus|Full article...]]''')'' | '''''[[wikipedia:Ovalipes_catharus|Ovalipes catharus]]''''', commonly known as the paddle crab, swimming crab, or ''pāpaka'' in Māori, is a species of crab found in shallow, sandy-bottomed waters around the coasts of New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and uncommonly in southern Australia. This species is an opportunistic, aggressive, and versatile feeder active mostly at night, preying predominantly on molluscs and crustaceans. It is also highly prone to cannibalism, which accounts for over a quarter of its diet in some locations. The crab's paddle-shaped rear legs and streamlined carapace allow it to capture prey by swimming rapidly and to escape predation by burrowing in the sand. Its mating season is in winter and spring, after which the female likely moves into deeper waters to incubate and disperse her larvae. Commercial fisheries have harvested paddle crabs since the 1970s, and ''O. catharus'' is present in Māori culture as both an artistic motif and as a traditional source of food. ''('''[[wikipedia:Ovalipes_catharus|Full article...]]''')'' | ||