6/20/23

Fiddler crabs fighting

Male fiddler crabs (Leptuca pugilator) competing for a burrow. Male fiddler crabs compete for burrows using ritualized ‘combat’, which actually represents a complex, ritualized means of communicating health, status, and desire to obtain a burrow. Note towards the end of the video, a 3rd male takes over the burrow while the resident and original intruder were distracted.

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Male fiddler crab waving