Abstract
Pre-copulatory behaviour and surface copulation of the rock-dwelling ocypodid crabIlyoplax integra was studied from May 1989 to June 1990, at Horikawa, Okinawa Island, southern Japan. A male crab would grasp a female near the entrance to her burrow and copulatein situ. Copulation lasted 12.7 minutes on average. Surface copulations were frequently observed during neap tide days, especially in the first quarters during May and June. On these days copulations were quite frequent in the dusk period, during the 1.5 h around sunset. Surface copulation has not been described in otherIlyoplax species, therefore the sexual behaviour ofI. integra is unique within the genus. On rocks, where the number of burrows is in shortage, surface copulation in which a male can mate without evacuating his burrow to the female may be adaptive. Two possibilities were suggested to explain the high frequency of surface copulation during dusk hours; 1) to reduce the risk of predation by plovers and 2) to avoid exposing crabs to higher temperature and stronger radiation in daytime hours during surface copulation.
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Kosuge, T., Murai, M. & Nishihira, M. Dusk-copulation of the rock-dwelling ocypodid,Ilyoplax integra (Brachyura). J. Ethol. 10, 53–61 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02350187
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02350187