| Seagrass sentinel crab | |
|---|---|
 | |
| On Nudgee Beach, Queensland | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Macrophthalmidae |
| Genus: | Macrophthalmus |
| Subgenus: | Macrophthalmus |
| Species: | M. crassipes |
| Binomial name | |
| Macrophthalmus crassipes (Milne Edwards, 1852) | |
Macrophthalmus crassipes is a species of sentinel crab in the family Macrophthalmidae, found around China, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, and the Caroline Islands. [1] In Australia it is found from north Western Australia through to New South Wales. [1] Common names include the seagrass sentinel crab [2] and the orange spined sentinel crab. On adult males there is a substantial tooth on the lower claw and a much smaller tooth on the upper claw, and noticeable orange spines on the “wrist” (carpus) of the clawed leg and on the palm of the clawed leg. [1] The carapace is covered in small granules, and is up to around 37 mm (1.5 in) across. [3] [4] It is a burrowing crab, and lives in open tidal flats, muddy or with sandy mud, low on tidal creek banks, and adjacent mangroves. [1]
