Can you id this California crab
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Arnaud
Contributor
Could it be a juvenile sheep crab?
H2Andy
Contributor
i don't know Pacific crabs at all, but i was thinking it was a fuzzy crab
(Hapalogaster mertensii).
the trouble is, i have a hand-written note that says
"Range: Alaska to n. California." maybe this one got lost?
(Hapalogaster mertensii).
the trouble is, i have a hand-written note that says
"Range: Alaska to n. California." maybe this one got lost?
It is hard to tell from the photo. Is the crab slightly tilted towards the camera? I can't seem to see the head and rostrum clearly?
If you could provide additional information it would be easier tyyo help you. How large is the crab? Does its rostrum end in a single point? What kind of habitat did you find it in? Did you observe any behavior prior to photographing it? Does it have a single pointed rostrum or one with two "horns?"
Although it seems to resemble Erileptus spinosus (no common name) it seems to be too large to be that species.
Dr. Bill
If you could provide additional information it would be easier tyyo help you. How large is the crab? Does its rostrum end in a single point? What kind of habitat did you find it in? Did you observe any behavior prior to photographing it? Does it have a single pointed rostrum or one with two "horns?"
Although it seems to resemble Erileptus spinosus (no common name) it seems to be too large to be that species.
Dr. Bill
Looks like a pelagic majid (spider crab) to me, but not a species I'm familiar with. Looks like one of the legs got knocked off too. I almost tagged it as a lithodid...
was found on a sandy bottom but near a detritus field of kelp and surf grass in about 35-40 fsw of the coast of San Diego. very small, less that an 2 inches across the back. it is indeed tilted toward the camera. the rostrum had to peaks I think but would have to confer the the photographer to confirm that.
Based on the reported size and two peaks on the rostrum instead of one, it wouldn't be the species I guessed. I don't see anything in Jensen's Pacific Coast Crabs and Shrimps that is a dead ringer for it.
Wonder if it could be an introduction from elsewhere... Baja, bilge water import, etc.
Have you tried showing folks at the Birch Aquarium?
Dr. Bill
Wonder if it could be an introduction from elsewhere... Baja, bilge water import, etc.
Have you tried showing folks at the Birch Aquarium?
Dr. Bill
John H. Moore
Contributor
Any other photos? Much of the visible coloration and the white fuzziness look like Herbstia parvifrons, but it's hard to tell... Was the carapace pretty round?
The crab is an adult Pyromaia tuberculata, tuberculate pear crab. The setal hair-looking things are probably epizoic hydroids or newly molted setae.
It's a scavenger in detritus patches and sandy substrates.
Identified by Mary Wicksten, PhD.
Texas A&M Dept. of Biology
It's a scavenger in detritus patches and sandy substrates.
Identified by Mary Wicksten, PhD.
Texas A&M Dept. of Biology
Reported size for adult Pyromaia tuberculata in California is less than an inch so that doesn't seem to fit your description (unless it is a "giant" specimen!). I had considered it a possibility but rejected it based on reported size.
Dr. Bill
Dr. Bill
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