The Japanese spider crab is a species of marine crab that lives in the waters around Japan. It has the largest known leg-span of any arthropod. It goes through three main larval stages along with a prezoeal stage to grow to its great size.
Scylla serrata is an ecologically important species of crab found in the estuaries and mangroves of Africa, Australia, and Asia. In their most common forms, their shell colours vary from a deep, mottled green to very dark brown.
Ocypode is a genus of ghost crabs found in the sandy shores of tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. They have a box-like body, thick and elongated eyestalks, and one claw is larger than the other in both males and females. They inhabit deep burrows in the intertidal zone. They are primarily nocturnal, and are generalist scavengers and predators of small animals. The genus contains 21 species.
Macrophthalmus is a genus of crabs which are widespread across the Indo-Pacific. It contains the following species :
Cherax parvus is a species of crayfish in the family Parastacidae. It is only known from its type locality – the Upper Tully River catchment in the Cardwell Range of north-eastern Queensland – and is listed as data deficient on the IUCN Red List. It was discovered in a rainforest catchment in a highland of northeastern Queensland during a Queensland Museum expedition to the upper Tully River area in November 1992. It is one of the smallest species in the genus. No species of Cherax has been considered endemic to wet upland or highland areas before it was discovered; most previous records were from elevations less than 400 meters. It also has several morphological features unique to the genus, and does not appear closely related to any extant species, suggesting a long period of geographic isolation.
The purple shore crab is a common crab of the family Varunidae. It can be found sheltering under rocks in inter-tidal areas along the west coast of North America, from Alaska to Baja California in Mexico. This crab primarily eats sea lettuce and other green algae, and occasionally scavenges dead animals.
Mictyris longicarpus, the light-blue soldier crab, is a species of crab that lives on sandy beaches from the Bay of Bengal to Australia; with other members of the genus Mictyris, it is "one of the most loved crabs in Australia". Adults are 25 mm (1 in) across, white, with blue on their backs, and hold their claws vertically. They feed on detritus in the sand, leaving rounded pellets of discarded sand behind them. The males may form into large "armies" which traverse the beach at low tide, before the crabs dig into the sand to wait for the next low tide.
Oregonia bifurca, commonly known as the split-nose crab or the split-nose decorator crab, is a species of crabs belonging to the family Oregoniidae. It is a rare deep-water species that inhabits the tops of seamounts and guyots in the northeastern Pacific Ocean; from the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Sea, the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, to the waters off British Columbia. It is closely related to the more common shallow-water species Oregonia gracilis, the graceful decorator crab.
Charybdis hellerii, the Indo-Pacific swimming crab or spiny hands is a species of crab from the swimming crab family, the Portunidae. Its native range covers the Indian and Pacific Oceans but it has been introduced to the western Atlantic and has invaded the Mediterranean. It is a commercially exploited species in south-east Asia.
Australoplax tridentata, commonly known as the furry-clawed crab or tuxedo shore crab is a species of crab in the family Macrophthalmidae that is found in Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory.
Helopgrapsus haswellianus or Haswell’s shore crab, is the sole species of crab in the genus Helograpsus. It lives in river mouths and bays on the eastern coast of Australia. The carapace is strongly convex with one distinct notch behind the eye. Adult males have larger claws than adult females. The carapace is olive, dark slate grey or reddish. Claws of adult males are orange-yellow. Carapace size is up to 30 mm wide. The orange color is stronger when these crabs live in habitat with lower pollution levels.
Paragrapsus laevis is a species of crab found in south eastern Australia, from southern Queensland to around the South Australian border, including Tasmania.
Podophthalmus vigil is a species of swimmer crab found in tropical areas of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, Japan, South Africa, the Red Sea, Australia. In Australia the crab is found across the north from Exmouth to Moreton Bay. It is commonly known as the Long-eyed swimmer crab Stalk-eyed swimmer crab, Red crab, or Periscope crab. Like other swimmer crabs the last pair of legs have flattened ends to form paddles. Colors include a greenish brown carapace with possible red spots, claws and legs pale violet, rose red or dark red. The carapace is typically up to 100mm across, very broad at the front, narrow at the back with a spine on each side. There is a single tooth behind the spine. Males are larger than females and have more elongated limbs.
Macrophthalmus pacificus is a species of sentinel crab found widely across the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, including India, Japan, Malaysia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and northern Australia.
Macrophthalmus setosus is a species of sentinel crab found on the east coast of Australia, from around Queensland to Sydney. Macrophthalmus setosus is found low down on muddy river and creek banks and in exposed sea grass areas in tidal zones, at times near mangroves. Males have a tooth on the upper claw (dactyl). The carapace is around 40 mm wide, and rectangular, greater than 1.7 times wide than long. Eye stalks are long and thin.
Tubuca polita, commonly known as the polished fiddler crab. or pink-clawed fiddler crab is a species of fiddler crab that is found in the northern part of Australia including the Torres Strait Islands
Tubuca coarctata is a species of fiddler crab found in the western Pacific ocean, including Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia. The common name of these crabs is either the compressed fiddler crab, or the orange-clawed fiddler crab,. They are found on tidal mud flats adjacent mangroves and muddy tidal creek and river banks.
Tubuca dussumieri, is a species of fiddler crab that is found in the western and south pacific including New Caledonia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, north eastern Australia
Portunus armatus is a species of crustacean, a swimming crab in the family Portunidae found in Australia and eastwards to New Caledonia. Common names include blue swimmer crabs, Blue manna, Blueys, and Jennies. The species was originally considered as a geographic variation of Portunus pelagicus, however in 2010 the Portunus pelagicus species was reviewed using DNA, as well as physical characteristics including measurements and four species recognised: Portunus pelagicus, Portunus armatus, Portunus reticulatis and Portunus segnis. The range of Portunus armatus overlaps with Portunus pelagicus in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Parasesarma messa, commonly known as the maroon mangrove crab, is a species of burrowing crab found in Queensland, Australia. It lives in mangroves in estuaries and sheltered bays. It was originally described as Sesarma messa, but was placed in the genus Parasesarma in 2017. Perisesarma messa is also a synonym.
