| Black finger crab | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Menippidae |
| Genus: | Ozius |
| Species: | O. deplanatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Ozius deplanatus H. Milne Edwards, 1834 | |
Ozius deplanatus, commonly known as the black finger crab and the iron crab, is a species of crab found in New Zealand and Australia. [1] [2]
Common around the North Island of New Zealand. [1]
Found in Australia from Eastern Victoria to New South Wales, on Flinders Island and the Kent Group. [2] [3]
Also found on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. [3]
O. deplanatus is found under boulders and among stones in the lower to mid tidal regions of the intertidal zone on sheltered rocky and gravel shores. [1] [4] [5]
It is distributed sparsely, with one individual per 5 m2. [1]
Adults average 57 millimetres (2.2 in) in size with a flattened oval-shaped carapace that is wide in the front with blunt lobed edges. This can be a rusty red to chocolate brown colour with light mottling. Underside may be a paler cream colour. [2] The antennae are dark red to brown. Claws are large with a smooth texture. [2] Fingers may be black or brown in colour. [1] Walking legs are pale red with golden setae or hairs. [1]
The black finger crab is a scavenger feeder. [5] It feeds on snails, half-crabs and hermit crabs. It is known to chip away at the shells of larger snails before grasping the animal with its mouth-parts. Smaller snails are crushed by the crab's large claws. It also feeds on limpets and chitons by using the tip of its claw to remove them from a rock. [1]
It will spread its claws when started or threatened. [1]
Notolabrus fucicola, the banded parrotfish, blue wrasse, kelpie, New Zealand banded wrasse, purple parrotfish, saddled wrasse, Southern purple wrasse, Southern wrasse, winter bream or yellow-saddled wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the eastern Indian Ocean, off eastern Australia and all around New Zealand on rocky, weedy reef areas. Aging work in New Zealand suggested these wrasses can live at least 35 years.
The northern bastard codling is a morid cod of the genus Pseudophycis, found around southern Australia including Tasmania, and New Zealand, from the surface to 220 m. Its length is between 15 and 25 cm.
Hemigrapsus sexdentatus, also called the “common rock crab” or “common shore crab,” is a marine crab indigenous to the southern shores of New Zealand. This crab is a member of the Varunidae family in the order Decapoda.
Scutus breviculus is a common herbivorous species of large sea snail or limpet with the common name shield shell or less commonly duck's bill limpet. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets and slit limpets.
Pagurus novizealandiae, or the New Zealand hermit crab is a hermit crab of the family Paguridae, endemic to New Zealand. Its body is up to 16 millimetres (0.63 in) wide.
The long-spine porcupinefish, also known as the freckled porcupinefish among other vernacular names, is a species of marine fish in the family Diodontidae.
Eudoxochiton nobilis, commonly called the noble chiton, is a large chiton of the family Callochitonidae. The Māori name is Rangitīra.
Crab meat or crab marrow is the meat found within a crab. It is used in many cuisines around the world, prized for its soft, delicate and sweet taste. Crab meat is low in fat and provides around 340 kilojoules (82 kcal) of food energy per 85-gram (3 oz) serving. Brown crab, blue crabs, blue swimming crabs, and red swimming crabs are among the most commercially available species of crabmeat globally.
Tucetona laticostata, or the large dog cockle, is a salt water clam or marine bivalve mollusc in the family Glycymerididae.
Eriphia verrucosa, sometimes called the warty crab or yellow crab, is a species of crab found in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean from Brittany to Mauritania and the Azores. Individual crabs have been caught as far north as Cornwall. Formerly a frequent species in the Black Sea, it has decreased in numbers since the 1980s and is now listed in the Ukrainian Red Data Book of endangered species.
Hinea brasiliana, common name the yellow-coated clusterwink, is a species of small sea snail, a gastropod mollusc in the family Planaxidae. It is native to New Zealand and southeastern Australia where it is found in the littoral zone of rocky shores. It is one of only a few sea snail species able to bioluminesce.
Pilumnus hirtellus, the bristly crab or hairy crab, is a species of European crab. It is less than 1 inch (25 mm) long and covered in hair. It lives in shallow water and feeds on carrion.
Cymo melanodactylus, the furry coral crab, is a species of small decapod crustacean in the family Xanthidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and lives in crevices and on the surface of corals in the genus Acropora.
Plaxiphora obtecta is a large chiton in the family Mopaliidae, endemic to New Zealand, where it is most often found on the West Coast of the North Island. It is called Haka-hiwihiwi by some Māori and was likely a food source.
The seaweed darkling beetle, also known by its Māori name pāpapa, is a flightless, nocturnal beetle found on sandy beaches in New Zealand.
Oulactis magna, commonly known as the giant shore anemone or camouflaged anemone, and by its Māori name kōtore tino nui, is a common sea anemone found in New Zealand.
Eurynolambrus australis, commonly known as the triangle crab, and by its Māori name riangi, is a small species of crab that is widespread throughout New Zealand.
Spirobranchus cariniferus, commonly known as the blue tubeworm or spiny tubeworm, or by its Māori name toke pā, is a species of tube-building polychaete worm endemic to New Zealand.
Euidotea durvillei, known commonly as the red seaweed isopod, is a species of isopod found in New Zealand.
Te Matuku Marine Reserve is a marine reserve administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. It includes Te Matuku Bay, one of the largest and least disturbed estuaries on Waiheke Island, as well as a surrounding area of sea. It covers an area of 690 ha and was established in 2003.
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