- Heikegani
Taxobox
name = Heikegani
image_width = 280px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Arthropod a
subphylum = Crustacea
classis =Malacostraca
ordo =Decapoda
subordo =Pleocyemata
infraordo = Brachyura
familia =Dorippidae
genus = "Heikea "
species = "H. japonica"
binomial = "Heikea japonica"
binomial_authority = (von Siebold, 1824)Heikegani (平家蟹, ヘイケガニ) ("Heikea japonica") is a species of
crab native toJapan , with a shell that bears a pattern resembling a human face. It is locally believed that these crabs arereincarnation s of the spirits of the Heike warriors defeated at theBattle of Dan-no-ura as told in theHeike Monogatari ("The Tale of the Heike"). The pattern of ridges on the carapace serves a very functional purpose as sites ofmuscle attachment. Similar patterns are found on species in many parts of the world, including fossilized remains.Heikegani were used by
Carl Sagan in his popular science television show "" as an example of unintentionalartificial selection . However, some experts have questioned this. The story goes that the crabs with shells resembling Samurai were thrown back, while those not resembling Samurai were eaten, giving the former a greater chance of reproducing. [http://crustacea.nhm.org/people/martin/publications/pdf/103.pdf] However, the maximum width of adult heikegani crabs is only about 30 mm (1.2inch es), so some fishermen throw these crabs back into the sea regardless of appearance. But smaller specimens may have been eaten in the past, before mass fishing. It is difficult to know for sure how much of the crab's shape and quantity has been dictated by artificial selection.References
*cite journal |quotes=no | author=Martin, J. W. | title=The Samurai Crab | journal=Terra | year=1993 | volume=31 | issue=4 | pages=30–34 | url=http://crustacea.nhm.org/people/martin/publications/pdf/103.pdf (This site contains excellent colour photographs of these crabs, as well as arguments against the theory that they were formed through selection pressure exerted by human aesthetic impulses.)
External links
* [http://www.lib.pref.fukuoka.jp/tosho/kou/tck031.htm Illustrations] of Heikegani at the [http://www.lib.pref.fukuoka.jp Fukuoka Prefectural Library Web site] . The top illustration is of a Heikegani and the middle one is of a Samehadaheikegani (Paradorippe granulata).
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