The African clawed frog, also known as simply Xenopus, African clawed toad, African claw-toed frog or the Platanna) is a species of African aquatic frog of the family Pipidae. Its name is derived from the short black claws on its feet. The word Xenopus means 'strange foot' and laevis means 'smooth'.
Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae, are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places. In southern Africa the genus Palystes are known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders. Commonly, they are confused with baboon spiders from the Mygalomorphae infraorder, which are not closely related.
The Pacific gull is a very large gull, native to the coasts of Australia. It is moderately common between Carnarvon in the west, and Sydney in the east, although it has become scarce in some parts of the south-east, as a result of competition from the kelp gull, which has "self-introduced" since the 1940s.
Calappa hepatica, the reef box crab, is a common benthic species of box crab of tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the Red Sea.
The giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus), also known as the Queensland groper (grouper), brindle grouper or mottled-brown sea bass, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution and is one of the largest extant species of bony fish.
Grapsus grapsus is one of the most common crabs along the western coast of the Americas. It is known as the red rock crab, or, along with other crabs such as Percnon gibbesi, as the Sally Lightfoot crab.
Profilicollis is a genus of acanthocephalan parasites of crustaceans. The status of the genus Profilicollis has been debated, and species placed in this genus were formerly included in the genus Polymorphus. However, research on the morphology of the group and their use of hosts has concluded that Profilicollis and Polymorphus should be regarded as distinct genera, and species previously described as Polymorphus altmani are now referred to as Profilicollis altmani in taxonomic and biological literature. Profilicollis parasites infect decapod crustaceans, usually shore crabs, as intermediate hosts, and use many species of shorebirds as definitive (final) hosts.
Heloecius cordiformis is a species of semiterrestrial crab found in mangrove swamps and mudflats along the east coast of Australia. Adults are around 25 mm (1 in) wide, with males being larger and having larger and more conspicuously coloured claws. The males wave their claws to communicate with other crabs, giving them their common name of semaphore crab. They can breathe both in air and under water, and feed at low tide on detritus in the sediment. H. cordiformis is the only species in the genus Heloecius and the family Heloeciidae.
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.
Dromia dormia, the sleepy sponge crab or common sponge crab, is the largest species of sponge crab. It grows to a carapace width of 20 cm (8 in) and lives in shallow waters across the Indo-Pacific region.
Ocypode brevicornis is a species of ghost crab native to the Indian Ocean, from the Gulf of Oman to the Nicobar Islands. They are relatively large ghost crabs with a somewhat trapezoidal body. The carapace reaches a length of 41 mm (1.6 in) and a width of 50 mm (2.0 in). They are a mottled brown to yellow in coloration. Like other ghost crabs, one of their claws is much larger than the other. Their eyestalks are large and elongated, tipped with prolongations at the tip known as styles. They are common inhabitants of open sandy beaches, living in burrows in the intertidal zone.
Ozius deplanatus, commonly known as the black finger crab and the iron crab, is a species of crab found in New Zealand and Australia.
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.
Pseudohelice subquadrata is a species of crab in the family Varunidae. It is found from the eastern Indian Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean, north to Japan, south to Eastern Australia, east to French Polynesia, west to Indonesia and Thailand. It lives near mangroves, burrowing in firm soils, firm muddy sand or loose stones. Burrows are towards or above the high tide line on shores of estuaries and near river mouths of bays, and can have offshoots horizontal beneath the surface as long as three metres.
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 is a genus of crabs from South Eastern Australia, containing the following species:
Davusia glabra, commonly called the shiny bait crab, Sowrie crab or Sourie crab is the sole species of crab in the genus Davusia. It lives around the low tide area on rocky ocean shores on the eastern coast of Australia, in crevices and rock pools and on rock platforms. Its distribution is stated differently in different sources; some have described the crab's habitat as from Queensland to as far south as the NSW-Victorian border, while others have stated it can be found as far south as Wilson's Promontory. Its carapace is grey to fawn-colored with very small green spots, resulting in Davusia glabra having a greenish appearance. The width of the carapace is around 30-40 mm across and is smooth without hair, slightly wider than long, with 3 distinct spines at each edge.
Lamarckdromia beagle is a crab species in the family Dromiidae, described in 2022.
Macrophthalmus crassipes is a species of sentinel crab in the family Macrophthalmidae, found around China, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, and the Caroline Islands. In Australia it is found from north Western Australia through to New South Wales. Common names include the seagrass sentinel crab 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. The carapace is covered in small granules, and is up to around 37 mm (1.5 in) across. It is a burrowing crab, and lives in open tidal flats, muddy or with sandy mud, low on tidal creek banks, and adjacent mangroves.
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
