General Description
Carapace with plate-like tubercles anteriorly; anterolateral margin with 5 rounded lobes. Claws (chelipeds) with shiny tubercles. Walking legs covered with numerous long blunt spines. Carapace red or orange, often with patches of white on legs. Up to 2 cm wide.
Biology
Actaea peronii is one of the commonest and most colourful small crabs in the sediments of the southern Australian shelf but is rarely seen intertidally or in bays. It is certainly one of the easiest to recognise.
Distribution
Southern temperate oceans, including southern Australia.
Habitat
Intertidal, to 110 m depth.
More Information
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Animal Type
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Animal SubType
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Brief Id
Bright orange-red to pale salmon-pink crab, carapace oval, wider than long, highly sculptured, and with spikes on the short legs.
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Maximum Size
2 cm
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Habitats
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Diet
Organic matter
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Hazards
Not harmful but a nip from claws could be painful.
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Endemicity
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Commercial
No
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Conservation Statuses
DSE Advisory List: Not listed, EPBC Act 1999: Not listed, IUCN Red List: Not listed
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Depths
Shore (0-1 m), Shallow (1-30 m), Deep ( > 30 m)
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Water Column Locations
On or near seafloor
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Taxon Name
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Scientific Author
Milne Edwards, 1834
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Common Name
Thorn-legged Crab
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Other Names
Spiky Stone Crab
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Phylum
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Subphylum
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Superclass
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Class
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Subclass
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Superorder
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Order
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Suborder
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Infraorder
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Family
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Subfamily
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Genus
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Species Name
peronii