Image©Stuart Westmore
Other speices
- Birgus latro
- Coenobita scaevola
- Coenobita clypeatus
- Coenobita compressus
- Coenobita perlatus
- Coenobita rugosus
- Coenobita spinosus
- Coenobita olivieri
- Coenobita carnescens
- Coenobita brevimanus
- Coenobita cavipes
- Coenobita purpureus
- Coenobita violascens
- Coenobita rubescens
- Coenobita longitarsis
- Coenobita variabilis
- Coenobita pseudorugosus
- Coenobita lila
- New species related to Coenobita violascens
- New species related to Coenobita rugosus
Common name
Crazy Crab, Aussie Crab, Calico Crab.
Size
Carapace length can reach 40mm
Distribution
From Western Australia across Northern Territory to north coast of Queensland.
Habitat
Live in the area 100m (or above) far away from the beach. Most common near the mangrove, appear in the rocky beach or sandy area, hiding under debris and rocks during daytime.
Larval stages
Two zoeal stages.
Characteristics
Adult
Body colour is light brown, pale brown, beige, cream, reddish brown, dark brown.
Dorsal surface with two dark ovals mark (like ‘m’ shape) on anterior of shield.
Eyestalks
Eyestalks are compressed in shape.
Antenna
Antennule (1st antennal) in orange.
Cheliped
Left cheliped is bigger than right cheliped. There is series of 3-4 ridges (////) (no so obvious) on upper outer surface of palm of left cheliped.
Upper margins of both cheliped with brush of setae.
Longitudinal dark brown streak on both carpus of cheliped, with darker colour granules.
Walking legs
Longitudinal dark brown streak on both carpus of 2nd and 3rd walking legs, with darker colour granules.
Abdomen
The abdomen is short.
Male coxae of 5th legs
As below image.
Juvenile
Body colour is much more light. Longitudinal dark brown streak on both carpus of cheliped and walking legs is not obvious.
Remark
Thank you Gan Bao Mina and Chen Tsz Pi found an important characteristic of Coenobita variabilis.
There is a tuft of long setae on the ventral margin inside of the merus of the right cheliped, same as on the left cheliped, but the long setae of left cheliped is not so obvious as right cheliped.
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- Original Picture: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzKXh7hy2kU/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
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- Original Picture: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzKXh7hy2kU/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
Gallery
Reference links
- Atlas Of Living Australia
- AUSSIECRABS, ABOUT AUSTRALIAN LAND HERMIT CRABS
- Biodiversity, Australian Biological Resources Study
- coenobita.e-monsite.com
- coenobitaspecies.com
- Mangrove Creatures, Nothing is better then discovering creatures in the mud
- www.vanessascrabitat.com.au
Reference articles
- Harvey A. W., 1992. Abbreviated Larval Development in the Australian Terrestrial Hermit Crab
- McLaughlin P. A., Komai T., Lemaitre R., Rahayu D. L., 2010. Annotated checklist of anomuran decapod crustaceans of the world (exclusive of the Kiwaoidea and families Chirostylidae and Galatheidae of the Galatheoidea) Part I. Lithodoidea, Lomisoidea and Paguroidea