Name of animal-plant: Xanthid crabs

Species name:

Animal type: INVERT

Subcategory: crab

Xanthidae is a family of crabs known as mud crabs, pebble crabs or rubble crabs. Xanthid crabs are often brightly coloured and are poisonous, containing toxins which are not destroyed by cooking and for which no antidote is known. The toxins are similar to the tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin produced by puffer fish, and may be produced by bacteria in the genus Vibrio living in symbiosis with the crabs, mostly V. alginolyticus and V. parahaemolyticus.

Fact:

All animals and plants are given a species name based on a technical term in biological taxnomy. The species name consists of two words and is based on Latin.

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