General Description
Cryptic crab often camouflaged with seaweed, sponge or bryozoans. Carapace pear-shaped, rostral spines stout, straight, divergent. Thin chelipeds (the legs with claws) remain clear of camouflage. Walking legs with second last segment slightly expanded on the lower distal margin. Yellow-brown. Carapace up to 7 cm long.
Biology
A common seaweed crab among subtidal algal beds of sheltered shores. These crabs have small hooked hairs on their carapace to which they attach bits of seaweed, sponge or bryozoan. Underneath the camouflage the crab is yellow-brown and males have stronger claws than females. They feed on other invertebrates.
Distribution
Southern temperate oceans including southern Australia.
Habitat
Low intertidal, to 108 m depth.
More Information
-
Animal Type
-
Animal SubType
-
Brief Id
Carapace covered by seaweed, surface smooth between groups of curled setae, yellow-brown, walking legs with penultimate sections (propodi) only slightly expanded.
-
Maximum Size
7 cm
-
Habitats
-
Diet
Carnivore
-
Hazards
Not harmful but a nip from claws could be painful.
-
Endemicity
-
Commercial
No
-
Depths
Shore (0-1 m), Shallow (1-30 m), Deep ( > 30 m)
-
Water Column Locations
On or near seafloor
-
Taxon Name
-
Scientific Author
(Latreille, 1825)
-
Common Name
Smooth Seaweed Crab
-
Phylum
-
Subphylum
-
Superclass
-
Class
-
Subclass
-
Superorder
-
Order
-
Suborder
-
Infraorder
-
Family
-
Subfamily
-
Genus
-
Species Name
aurita
