General Description

Carapace rounded and red-brown. Seaweed and sponges sometimes attached to body. Up to 16 cm wide (carapace), leg span to 40 cm.

Biology

Giant Spider Crabs form large groups when breeding, often more than one hundred crabs to a group. They congregate before the winter moulting season when all of the crabs in the group moult at the same time. Moulting can take up to an hour. When the crab is freshly out of its old shell the new shell remains soft for a while making it a target for predators. Forming large groups at this time helps reduce an individual's chance of being eaten. A Giant Spider Crab's new shell is a bright orange which gradually fades. Giant Spider Crabs are scavengers and eat almost any food available to them.

Distribution

Southern Australia.

Habitat

Seaweed, reef and sand areas, to depth of 820 m.

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