Taiwanese Crabs FDC from TAIWAN

FDC Name:Taiwanese Crabs Issue Date:15th April'2010 Details: One of the most beautiful FDC & stamps by Chunghwa Post(TAIWAN) To raise understanding about our coastal wildlife and to call for the public to pay more attention to marine ecology conservation, Chunghwa Post previously issued two sets of stamps on Taiwan’s crabs: one on June 14, 1981 and another on July 21, 2004. Now it is following up with a third set of four stamps on the topic, featuring Cardisoma carnifex, Scandarma lintou, Sesarmops intermedius, and Gecarcoidea lalandii. Two stamps have denominations of NT$5.00, a third a denomination of NT$10.00, and the remaining stamp a denomination of NT$25.00. The stamps are planned by Ho Ping-ho, assistant professor of environmental biology and fisheries science at National Taiwan Ocean University, and painted by marine painter Mr. Jeng Yi-lang. These will be released on April 15, 2010. The designs follow: 1.      Cardisoma carnifex (NT$5.00): This land crab has a reddish or grayish purple carapace, yellowish cream colored abdomen and claws, and orange walking legs. It has unequal-sized claws and long, slender, flat walking legs. It is the largest terrestrial crab in Taiwan. It burrows in swamps near estuaries, under shrubs and in the walls of fish ponds in coastal areas. 2.      Scandarma lintou (NT$5.00): The color of this sesarmid crab is similar to a dry fallen leaf. It has a smooth and square carapace that is slightly wider than long. The claws are almost equal in size, and the dorsal surfaces of its wrists and palms are covered with granules With its walking legs (the third pair of which is the longest) long and slender, it is an excellent tree climber. Its name is derived from the Chinese for screw pine (lintou), which is where the crab was first discovered by Dr. Liu Hung-chang. 3.      Sesarmops intermedius (NT$10.00): This sesarmid crab has an almost square-shaped carapace, and smooth and slightly unequal-sized claws. Its walking legs are flat with sharp terminal joints. It is bright red to dark red in color, and it gets redder as it gets bigger. Therefore, it is also called Christmas crab. Every year, from May to mid-summer, when the tide is high on the Hengchun Peninsula, droves of gravid females cross coastal roads for larval release at dusk in the sea. 4.      Gecarcoidea lalandii (NT$25.00): This land crab has a dark purple to reddish purple carapace, a creamy yellow abdomen, and reddish purple claws and walking legs. Its carapace is transversely ovate, with scale-like wrinkles on the sides. Its claws are equal or slightly unequal in size and its walking legs are somewhat flat. It lives in burrows in coastlines that are rocky or near coral reefs. Individuals are often found wandering on coastal highways at night on the Hengchun Peninsula during the rainy season.

Stamps Image(4v)