Alcockdromia

Cryptodromia fallax (Latreille in Milbert, 1812) has been serendipitously found again on the island of Mauritius, almost 200 yrs after its discovery. The new material provides new infor-

mation about the structure of the female sternum, providing stronger evidence that a new 

genus, Alcockdromia gen. nov., is required. Observations show that this crab cuts out and car-

ries pieces of seaweed in the manner of a paraglider, rather than pieces of sponge normally

carried by dromiid crabs. The crab uses Ulva lactuca Linnaeus, a green alga, and Lobophora

variegata (J.V. Lamouroux), a brown alga. This discovery shows that the last two prehensile

dromiid pereopods, which are used to carry soft camouflage, are multi-purpose, having only

minor structural differences allowing them to carry seaweeds.