About Tuerkayana hirtipes (Dana, 1851)
Tuerkayana hirtipes can be told apart from species in the genus Discoplax by its smooth, distinctly inflated carapace. Its body colour ranges from blue to blue-brown, while all remaining related species are purple or purple-brown. The breeding season of T. hirtipes lasts seven months, and females must migrate to the sea to release their larvae. This species has a broad distribution across the western Pacific Ocean. Confirmed and accepted records come from southern Japan, Taiwan, southern China, Palau, Guam, eastern Australia, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. There is only one single recorded observation from Hawaii, which is almost certainly erroneous. All past records of this species from the Indian Ocean are now recognized to actually belong to two separate related species: Tuerkayana celeste, which is found only on Christmas Island, and Discoplax magna, which is fairly widespread across the eastern Indian Ocean.
