General Description
Body smooth, mottled with variable patterns of red, brown, purple and yellow. The sides of carapace are curved and without teeth. Up to 4 cm wide (carapace).
Biology
Smooth Shore crabs are very active and race for shelter when disturbed. Because they can survive for several hours out of water they are able to live above the low-tide level on rocky shores. Shore crabs are scavengers, using their claws to tear apart dead fishes and rotting seaweed. Smooth Shore Crabs can breed (hybridise) with a closely related shore crab species.
Distribution
New Guinea, south-eastern Australia, including along the Victorian coast.
Habitat
Under rocks at mid to high intertidal levels.
More Information
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Animal Type
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Animal SubType
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Brief Id
Red brown and yellow patterns, no notches on sides of carapace.
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Maximum Size
4 cm
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Habitats
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Diet
Carnivore
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Diet Categories
Animal matter
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Hazards
Not harmful but a nip from large claws could be painful.
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Endemicity
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Commercial
No
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Conservation Statuses
CITES: Not listed, EPBC Act 1999: Not listed, FFG Threatened List: Not listed, IUCN Red List: Not listed
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Taxon Name
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Scientific Author
Milne Edwards, 1837
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Common Name
Smooth Shore 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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Superfamily
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Family
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Subfamily
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Genus
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Species Name
audouinii
