Biology of the Land Crabs »

Biology of the Land Crabs is the first book to present a synthesis of both the recent and long-term findings on semi-terrestrial crustaceans. The editors present a coordinated approach to the biology of the land crabs by integrating chapters by leading researchers on the systematics of evolution, ecology, behavior, reproduction, growth and molting, ion and water balance, respiration and circulation, and energetics and locomotion. They also discuss the varying degrees of adaptation of these creatures to life on land. Chapters emphasize an evolutionary, comparative approach and discuss how terrestrial species have become adapted fromtheir ancestral freshwater or marine forms. For easy reference, the text includes an extensive bibliography and a comprehensive appendix that includes the natural history of nearly eighty species of crabs.