CRINCH! The Crab of the Day!

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Photo credit: Angelo Eng

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/17/2016: Metasesarma aubryi or The Red Apple Crab (Sometimes The Red Tomato Crab!) is a fun family Sesarmidae species of semi-terrestrial Southeast Asian/South Pacific Crab. Appropriately named for its coloration, these tiny crabs inhabit mangroves, and are highly prized by aquarium enthusiasts for their relatively non-crabby demeanor, and ease of keeping. Suitable for the novice due to their low cost and mateability, M. aubryi likes to sit on rocks, and can handle a pretty wide range of habitat salinity.

http://eol.org/pages/4315957/overview
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=444590

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Photo credit: Joseph Poupin, Institut de Recherche de l'Ecole Navale (IRENAV)

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/18/2016: Planes marinus, or The Drifter Crab is a graspid species who live on floating objects in the open ocean! That’s right; they FLOAT their whole lives on other stuff! Plants, turtles, buoys, junk, you name it! Usually found in the open ocean, from British Columbia to New Zealand, and at St. Helena Island- due to their current-motile lifestyle, these little crabs have also been spotted in Japan and a variety of non-typical habitats. In the US, Planes marinus is often found on derelict fishing gear hailing from Oregon and Washington.

All the Planes spp. Crabs are sometimes referred to as “Columbus Crabs” because Columbus and his crew, during their journey to the new world “saw much more weed appearing, like herbs from rivers, in which they found a live crab, which the Admiral kept. He says these crabs are certain signs of land…”

Photo credit: Joseph Poupin, Institut de Recherche de l'Ecole Navale (IRENAV)

http://species-identification.org/speci ... an&id=1666
http://eol.org/pages/312687/names

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Photo credit: G. & Ph Poppe

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/18/2016: The Burl Spider Crab, or Hemus cristulipes is a rarely-seen family Majidae species, hailing from the Atlantic- from North and South Carolina, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, The West Indies and Brazil. This small, setae covered crab differs from the other 3 members of genus Hemus in that its carapace shows different lateral dentition. (Giving a burl-like appearance!) Just another fun Milne-Edwards crab!

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=421972
http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/S ... alue=98540

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Photo credit: Michel E. Hendrickx

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/20/2016: Chorilia turgida, The Deepwater Decorator Crab- a 200m +/- species of family Epialtidae spider crab. C. turgid adheres bits of plant matter and ocean floor muck to its carapace as a means of camoflague. The gunk it finds at its preferred depth is a distinctive method of differentiating Deeepwater Decorators from its cousin Genus Chorilia species. C. turgid can be found from Monterey Bay to San Diego.

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=441521
http://eol.org/pages/12170538/overview

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Photo credit: Bouz Connyaku, 2012

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/21/2016: Dicranodromia doederleini, known in its native Japan and Taiwan as “Kounagakamuri,” (コウナガカムリ) is a setae-covered family Homolodromiidae species. Prized as a delicacy, for both itself and its eggs, this species has in recent years found itself on contemporary sushi menus!

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=440149
http://species-identification.org/speci ... ry=soorten

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Photo credit: Jim Conrad

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/22/2016: Callinectes ornatus, The Ornate Blue Crab, also called "Shelligs." This Gulf of Mexico through North Atlantic Ocean species of swimming crab differs from its closely related Atlantic Blue Crab cousin (Callinectes sapidus) by the presence of six frontal teeth on the carapace, giving it a much more jagged/spiky appearance. Named for the blue shades on the lower tips of the claws, the C. ornatus diet consists of small crustaceans, fish, and scavenged detritus.

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=158053
http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/S ... alue=98699

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Photo credit: David Staples

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/23/2016: The Fringed Sponge Crab, Lamarckdromia globosa- sometimes called the Shaggy Sponge Crab is a Southern Australian species, known for carrying chunks of Ascidian sponge on its back. Previously labeled ‘Dromidiopsis excavate,’ this pinkish-brown crab differs from its other family Dromiidae relatives by being covered with a semicircular row of hairs across the top of its carapace. Once in a while, these crabs will carry a LARGE sea squirt rather than a sponge. L. globosa are VERY particular about their chosen hats, and will go at great lengths to keep their originally chosen one. In putting on their sponge cap the crab may need to grasp the cap, roll over on its back, upend itself backwards and then right itself- it’s hilarious!

www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=440090
http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Shaggy+Sponge-crab

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Photo credit: P. Bacchet

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/24/2016: Coenobita spinosus or The Forest Hermit Crab is a HUGE Polynesian/Australian/NCEZ cousin to the Coconut Crab. (Birgus latro) Named for the coastal wetlands and forests it lives in, this terrestrial species hunts at night for insects, dead stuff, and other easy meals!

Fun Fact: The name Coenobita was coined by Pierre André Latreille in 1829, from an Ecclesiastical Latin word, ultimately from the Greek “κοινόβιον,” meaning "commune.”

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=368197
http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/bismal/e ... ew/9043296

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Photo credit: Arthur Anker

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/25/2016: Allopetrolisthes angulosus, The Chilean Porcelain Crab is a family Porcellanidae species which grows only about 20 millimeters (0.79 in) in width. SUPER TINY! This crab is endemic to the southeastern Pacific, (Peru and Chile) and like it’s other two relatives in genus Allopetrolisthes, displays an extreme form of “carcinisation” referred to as "hypercarcinisation" a theorized process whereby a crustacean evolves into a crab-like form a previous a non-crab-like form.

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=425811
http://eol.org/pages/4258759/overview

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Photo credit: Alessandro Falleni

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/27/2016: Liocarcinus corrugates, The Wrinkled Swimming Crab, is a superfamily Portunoidea (family Polybiidae) swimming crab species. Found pretty much worldwide, populations are steady in Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Atlantic Ocean, and South Pacific Ocean. L. corrugates has a reddish-brown carapace, with distinct red or yellow patches. The carapace ALSO has numerous distinctive transverse ridges giving a 'corrugated' appearance- hence, the “corrugates” in its name.

That their larval stages have been found in high abundances under drifting clumps of algae probably contributes to their wide distribution.

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=107386
http://species-identification.org/speci ... cea&id=222

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Photo credit: Hsi-Te Shih, 2011

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/28/2016: The Yanbaru Forest Crab or Geothelphusa aramotoi is a Japanese/Taiwanese species of semi-terrestrial family Potamidae “kunigami.” This crab has very distinct series of pits, ridges, and bumps, (tubercles) allowing crab spotters to instantly differentiate G. aramotoi from other closely related species. The Yanbaru Forest Crab was first associated with genus Geothelphusa by Japanese ROCKSTAR CARCINOLOGIST Dr. Hisakatsu Minei of Kyushu University in 1973.

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=443045
http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/bismal/e/view/9045064

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Photo credit: Rob Ruzicka

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 04/29/2016: Lobopilumnus agassizii, (agassizii) affectionately called “The Grumpy Crab,” is a family Pilumnidae species found in the US Atlantic- from North Carolina to the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico. This Setae-covered crab has a bristly appearance, and sticks mainly to shoreside rockbeds. P. agassizii can be found from the low intertidal zone, up to 130m, where it hides under boulders and in rock crevices in sheltered harbors and on wharf piles.

It’s not a large species, with a carapace width of up to 20 mm.

Fun fact: Pilumnus novaezelandiae has a much abbreviated development. Eggs are few in number and very large. The larval stage (megalopa) hatches from the egg and young are carried by the female until they moult into the first crab stage. While it is common for freshwater decapods to provide parental care for juveniles, this behaviour is very rare among marine decapods.

http://eol.org/pages/1022432/overview
http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php/aphi ... &id=447768

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Photo credit: Marcos Tavares, Smithsonian Institution

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/30/2016: Chaceon fenneri, The Golden Deepsea Crab is an Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico species belonging to family Geryonidae. Named for the color of its shell; usually cream to tan in color, both parts of Chaceon fenneri’s Latin name commemorate “most influential carcinologist of the 20th century," Fenner A. Chace, Jr.

Found on the ocean floor at depths of 200-1,500m, this crab feeds upon benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms like mollusks and worms.

http://eol.org/pages/318611/overview
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=394996

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Photo credit: Michael Rosenberg

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/02/2016: Uca saltitanta, The Energetic Fiddler Crab is an Asiatic species of family Ocypodidae fiddler with distinct claw morphology and a Lilliputian size; less than a half-inch across. U. saltitanta males attract mates by waving their enlarged claws, both in the presence of mate-searching females and in their absence. Wandering females visit those males in the cluster that produce more waves at faster wave rates- they also selectively visit those males that produce the greatest number of’ leading waves’ in a group.

http://www.fiddlercrab.info/u_saltitanta.html
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php/ ... &id=378359
http://eol.org/pages/3118960/overview

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Photo credit: Yokohama Aquarium, 2015

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/03/2016: Paralomis cristata, known in Japan as “Ezoibaragani,” (エゾイバラガニ) is an Eastern-Asiatic family Lithodidae species of King Crab. This glorious beast’s name translates roughly as “Gila-Reed Ezo Thorns Crab,” or more appropriately, “Ezo Bay Crab.” Reaching around 15cm in size across its carapace, this species inhabits the 700-800m depth zone. Though becoming increasingly rare on menus, Ezoibaragani IS WAAAAAY DELICIOUS!

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=550570
http://eol.org/pages/4255493/overview

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Photo credit: Ron Yeo

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/04/2016: Matuta victor, The Common Moon Crab is a species routinely found in Southeast Asia through Australia and Oceana, and occasionally in the Middle East and the Subcontinent. This family Matutidae crab is pale yellow in color, with numerous fine maroon spots marking its carapace and legs, especially at the joints. Often found on intertidal sandy shores, this crab is occasionally eaten when it is caught as bycatch.

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=440354
http://www.species-identification.org/s ... pan&id=722

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Photo credit: Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/05/2016: Acanthonyx lunulatus, The Spanish Algae Crab or "Cangrejo de las algas" is a family Epialtidae species, found in the Mediterranean Sea, Africa, and the East and North Atlantic. Referred to as a ‘Sometime Decorator Crab;’ not all A. lunulatus individuals will choose to attach algae and plant bits to their rostrums, but all those that do will usually pick small pieces of Jania rubens (Epiphytic Red Seaweed) exclusively.

http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/S ... lue=199959

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Photo credit: J. Poupin

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/06/2016: Pseudoliomera speciosa, called The Showy Xanthid Crab, is an African/Indo-Pacific species known for its stunning carapace color and pattern. Living symbiotically among Cauliflower Corals and other dendritic seafloor corals, this STUNNING species of ‘Round Crab’ has a carapace granular pattern known in Japan as “clouds and leaves.” P. speciosa is prized in saltwater tanks for its easy demeanor and preference for a wide variety of frozen foods- not to mention its beauty!

http://species-identification.org/speci ... an&id=1234
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=209016

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Photo credit: Brenda Bowling, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/08/2016: Dyspanopeus texanus, or The Gulf Grassflat Crab is a seagrass/mudflat crab native to Texas and the greater Gulf of Mexico area. This small crab has an oval-shaped carapace, and pale colored claw ‘fingers,’ ending in classic white tips. D. texanus is a bugger for marine experts as it has virtually no “smoking gun” distinctive features. Seldom getting larger than 2.5 cm (1 in) in carapace width, the “Texas Mud Crab” lives in burrows, under shells or among the sea grasses in salt marshes .

http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/S ... alue=98902
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=443955

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Photo credit: Arthur Anker

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/09/2016: Nephropsis aculeata, or The Florida lobsterette; also called the “Wooly-Hand Deep-Sea Lobster,” and the “Florida langoustine.” This species is frequently found along the western Atlantic from: Massachusetts and Bermuda down to Santa Catarina in Brazil, including the entire Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. While not as meaty as the spiny rock lobsters in the region, N. aculeate is nevertheless important as a sometimes fishery stock, and a delicious ingredient in regional cuisine!

http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/S ... alue=98902
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=443955

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Photo credit: Mark Rosenstein

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/10/2016: Paguritta vittata, The Striped Coral Hermit Crab is an intense little family Paguridae member. Generally around 1 cm in length on the top-end, Paguritta species typically live in the tubes of polychaete annelid worms associated with corals or in self-created boreholes in living coral. THEY usually LIVE in HOLES not SHELLS! Among other features setting these crabs apart from nearly all other hermits, A specialized ‘feathered’ second set of antennae are a distinctive adaptation to this crab’s sessile (i.e., stationary) mode of life, enabling it to capture plankton carried by water currents.

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=366557
http://www.sealifebase.org/summary/Pagu ... ttata.html

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Photo credit: Vince Guida, NEFSC/NOAA

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/11/2016: Ethusa microphthalma, The Broadback Sumo Crab is a peculiar, burly carapace’d crab from the outer-continental shelves and upper slopes of the Atlantic. This crab has uncharacteristically tiny eyes and VERY STRONG first and second-pair walking legs. The last two pairs are small and usually held above the body, out of harm’s way.

Ethusidae is one of two extant families of crabs in the superfamily Dorippoidea.

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=107284
http://eol.org/pages/319293/overview

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Photo credit: Hsi-Te Shih, 2013

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/12/2016: Calcinus vachoni, The Humpback Coral Hermit Crab is a delightful little gray-blue to cream colored species with STUNNING star-banded eyes! Found in the intertidal rocky shores and shallow-waters of Indo-Pacific countries, this family Diogenidae crab can be rather difficult to spot against the hard corals it lives among. While C. vachoni (sometimes called the Vachon crab) doesn’t have a lot of distinctive markings on its carapace, its varied color gradient helps it blend in!

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=208673
http://www.sealifebase.org/summary/Calc ... choni.html

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Photo credit: Keiji Baba, 1991

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/13/2016: Alainius crosnieri, The Seamount Squat Lobster is a ‘hydrothermal-adjacent’ (hydrothermal vents, seamounts, and cold seeps) family Galatheidae species, first catalogued by Japanese rockstar carcinologist Keiji Baba in 1991! In what has become a taxonomic statistical anomaly, A. crosnieri and its close cousins remain in genus Alainius rather than the oft-suggested genus Mundia. The main difference between the two clade groups is specifically, the presence of "toothed flexor margins on the dactyli of the walking legs" in Alainius decapods.

Found primarily in Japan, the Loyalty Islands, and the New Caledonia Economic Zone.

http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=392177
https://inpn.mnhn.fr/espece/cd_nom/5960 ... taxo?lg=en

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Photo credit: Denis Riek, 2014

CRINCH! #CrabOfTheDay for 05/15/2016: Chaenostoma punctulatus, The Smooth Sentinel Crab is a diminutive species from supergenus Macrophthalmus. Typically found in Indo-Pacific waters, this little crab is one of only five members of the subgenera Chaenostoma. Though extremely similar to each other, the members of Chaenostoma can be distinguished from each other by the presence (or lack of) a tooth on the fixed finger of the male claw, and setae. (hairs)

First catalogued by Brito-Brazillian zoologist Edward John Miers in 1884; describing C. punctulatus and the other John Murray Challenger expedition crabs would be Miers' largest taxonomic work.

http://eol.org/pages/4268576/overview
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ... &id=558096