Note on Historical Records, Geographical Distribution, and Ecological Characteristics of a Mud Lobster, Thalassina anomala (Herbst, 1804) (Decapoda, Gebiidea, Thalassinidae) in Sarawak, Borneo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33736/bjrst.4058.2021Keywords:
Aautecology, coastal, decapod, mangrove, mud lobsterAbstract
The presence of mud lobster mounds is a common natural feature along coastal areas and tidal influence habitats in Sarawak. However, the number of species of mud lobsters that constructed the mounds is yet to be ascertained. This paper reviews historical records and geographical distribution of mud lobster in Sarawak from various forms of literature. The early records of mud lobster were from Buntal in Kuching, and Lingga in Sri Aman back more than 130 years ago. A few other records were reported from the central and northern regions of Sarawak between 1928 and 2019. All these records have identified mud lobster of Sarawak as Thalassina anomala (Herbst, 1804). Our present study at two sites in Buntal area with a careful examination of morphological characters of fresh specimens has confirmed the taxonomy of the species and its existence in the area. Some ecological characteristics of the mud lobster, such as size variation, population density, and mound characteristics, are also discussed. The present study also found that construction of massive mounds by mud lobster has posed a conflict to farmers and coastal communities at Buntal area, who regarded the animal as a pest. On the other hand, research on the potential medicinal value of mud lobster in Sarawak is growing. This implies that accurate taxonomy and comprehensive ecological data of T. anomala are necessary to support best practices of mud lobster pest management and sustainable harvesting of the animal for medicinal purposes, which eventually lead to conserving the animal.
References
Andriesse, J.P., Breemen, N. van & Blokhuis, W.A. (1972). The influence of mudlobsters (Thalassina anomala) on the development of acid sulphate soils in mangrove swamps in Sarawak (East Malaysia). In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Acid Sulphate Soils. Dost, H. (ed.). Wageningen, The Netherlands. Pp. 11 - 39.
Ashton, E.C. & Macintosh, D.J. (2002). Preliminary assessment of the plant diversity and community ecology of the Sematan mangrove forest, Sarawak, Malaysia. Forest Ecology and Management, 166: 111-129.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(01)00673-9
Ashton, E.C., Macintosh, D.J. & Hogarth, P.J. (2003). A baseline study of the diversity and community ecology of crab and molluscan macrofauna in the Sematan mangrove forest, Sarawak, Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Forest, 19: 127-142.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467403003158
Grinang, J., Das, I. & Ng, P.K.L. (2016). Ecological characteristics of the freshwater crab, Isolapotamon bauense in one of Wallace's collecting sites. In: Das, I. & Tuen, A.A. (eds.). Naturalists, Explorers and Field Scientists in South-East Asia and Australasia, Topics of Biodiversity and Conservation, Springer International Publishing Switzerland, 15: 127-141. Doi.1007/978-3-319-16161-4_8.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26161-4_8
Hassan, M., Lian, C.J., Zakariah, M.I. & Ambak, M.A. (2015). A first report on mudlobster (Thalassina anomala) and its mound characteristics from Setiu Wetland, Terengganu, Malaysia. Journal of Sustainability Science and Management, 10(2): 112-116.
Havanond, S. (1987). Effects of mud lobsters Thalassina anomala Herbst on plant succession in mangrove forests, Thailand. Bulletin of Marine Science, 41(2): 635-636.
Herbst, J.F.W. (1804). Versuch einer Naturgeschichte der Krabben und Krebse nebst einer systematischen Beschreibung ihrer verschiedenen Arten, 3(4): 1-50, Pls. 59-62.
Hossain, M.S., Bujang, J.S., Kamal, A.H.M., Zakaria, M.H. & Muslim, A.M. (2019). Behavioural response of the mud lobster, Thalassina anomala Herbst, 1804 (Decapoda, Gebiidea), to different trapping devices. Crustaceana, 92(3): 353 - 371.
https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003869
JASP Team (2020). JASP (Version 0.14.1) (Computer software).
Kartika, W.D., & Patria, M.P. (2012). Nest characteristics of mud lobster Thalassina anomala (Herbst, 1804) in Tanjung Jabung Barat, Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia. International Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 12(6): 245-248.
Leh, C.M.U. (1982). Checklist of crustaceans in the Sarawak Museum spirit collection. Unpublished report, 8 pp.
Lin, F.-J., Komai, T & Chan, T.Y. (2016). A new mud lobster of the genus Thalassina Latreille, 1806 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Gebiidea: Thalassinidae) from marine seagrass beds in Dongsha (Pratas) Island, South China Sea. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 64: 98-104.
Man, J.G. de (1928). The Decapoda of the Siboga-Expedition. Part 7. The Thalassinidae and Callianassidae collected by the Siboga-Expedition with some remarks on the Laomediidae. Siboga Expéditie, 39(A6): 1-187.
Md Zohir, N.H., Malahubban, M., Ab Aziz, Z. F. & Rajaee, A.H. (2018). Antibacterial potential of methanolic and hexanic extracts of mud lobster (Thalassina anomala) from Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. Research in Biotechnology, 8: 1-4.
https://doi.org/10.25081/rib.2018.v9.3686
Moh, H.H. (2016). Taxonomy, ecology and control of Thalassina mud lobsters on Carey Island and Kelanang Shore (Peninsular Malaysia). Unpublished dissertation. University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
Moh, H.H., & Chong, V.C. (2009). A new species of Thalassina (Crustacea: Decapoda: Thalassinidae) from Malaysia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 57(2): 465-473. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4509163.
Ngoc-Ho, N. & de Saint Laurent, M. (2009). The genus Thalassina Latreille, 1806 (Crustacea: Thalassinidea: Thalassinidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement No. 20: 121-158.
Sakai, K. (1999). J.F.W. Herbst-collection of Decapod Crustacea of the Berlin Zoological Museum, with remarks on certain species. Naturalists, 6: 1-45, Fig. 1a-c, Pls. 1-21.
Sakai, K. & Türkay, M. (2012). A review of the species of the genus Thalassina (Thalassinidea, Thalassinidae). Crustaceana, 85(11): 1339-1376. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003114.
https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003114
Wan Adnan, W.N.K. (2010). Ecology and biology of mud lobster (Thalassina sp.) in Sadong Jaya, Sarawak. Unpublished thesis. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Yin, L.B., Zhao, L.Z., Liu, Y., Zhang, D.Y., Zhang, S.B. & Xiao, K. (2013). Isolation and characterization of cypermethrin degrading bacteria screened from contaminated soil. In: Chamy R. (ed.). Biodegradation of Hazardous and Special Products. Intech: Rijeka, Croatia. pp. 1-16.
Zakaria, N., Malahubban, M., Fakurazi, S., Wong, S.C. & Rajaee, A.H. (2019). Length-weight and morphometric analysis of mud lobster, Thalassina anomala from Sarawak, Malaysia. Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, 42(1): 209-223.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal
1) In signing this statement, the author(s) grant UNIMAS Publisher an exclusive license to publish their original research papers. The author(s) also grant UNIMAS Publisher permission to reproduce, recreate, translate, extract or summarize, and to distribute and display in any forms, formats, and media. The author(s) can reuse their papers in their future printed work without first requiring permission from UNIMAS Publisher, provided that the author(s) acknowledge and reference publication in the Journal.
2) For open access articles, the author(s) agree that their articles published under UNIMAS Publisher are distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
3) For subscription articles, the author(s) agree that UNIMAS Publisher holds copyright, or an exclusive license to publish. Readers or users may view, download, print, and copy the content, for academic purposes, subject to the following conditions of use: (a) any reuse of materials is subject to permission from UNIMAS Publisher; (b) archived materials may only be used for academic research; (c) archived materials may not be used for commercial purposes, which include but not limited to monetary compensation by means of sale, resale, license, transfer of copyright, loan, etc.; and (d) archived materials may not be re-published in any part, either in print or online.
4) The author(s) is/are responsible to ensure his or her or their submitted work is original and does not infringe any existing copyright, trademark, patent, statutory right, or propriety right of others. Corresponding author(s) has (have) obtained permission from all co-authors prior to submission to the journal. Upon submission of the manuscript, the author(s) agree that no similar work has been or will be submitted or published elsewhere in any language. If submitted manuscript includes materials from others, the authors have obtained the permission from the copyright owners.
5) In signing this statement, the author(s) declare(s) that the researches in which they have conducted are in compliance with the current laws of the respective country and UNIMAS Journal Publication Ethics Policy. Any experimentation or research involving human or the use of animal samples must obtain approval from Human or Animal Ethics Committee in their respective institutions. The author(s) agree and understand that UNIMAS Publisher is not responsible for any compensational claims or failure caused by the author(s) in fulfilling the above-mentioned requirements. The author(s) must accept the responsibility for releasing their materials upon request by Chief Editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
6) The author(s) should have participated sufficiently in the work and ensured the appropriateness of the content of the article. The author(s) should also agree that he or she has no commercial attachments (e.g. patent or license arrangement, equity interest, consultancies, etc.) that might pose any conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript. The author(s) also agree to make any relevant materials and data available upon request by the editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
