Uca Burgersi (Burger’s Fiddler Crab)

A small fiddler crab of intertidal mudflats, Uca burgersi, lives in burrows; males make distinctive chimneyed entrances while females do not. On Dominica, it is abundant on the large mudflat just south of the Indian River at Portsmouth, where it occurs by the thousands alongside Uca vocator.

Ecological and Cultural Significance

Like other fiddlers, Uca Burgersi reworks surface sediments and grazes organic films on mudflats that fringe Mangrove Swamps of Dominica, supporting biodiversity and wildlife across the estuary. Taxonomically, the species is now treated as Minuca burgersi; the original combination Uca burgersi is unaccepted. In related fiddler species, male “chimneys” at burrow mouths are associated with courtship.

Sightings and Best Viewing Areas

Plan viewing around exposed mud at low tide on the south-of-Indian River flat in Portsmouth; this is the classic, documented site for dense colonies, when crabs emerge to feed and males wave the enlarged claw. Stand quietly on firmer ground at the margin of the flat and watch for clusters working the surface. Walks that also take in viewpoints near Cabrits Marine Reserve provide easy orientation and frequent encounters with active colonies.