General Description
Body spherical, light blue above, white underneath, red-purple patch on each side. Legs white. Up to 2 cm wide (carapace).
Biology
Soldier Crabs move in large groups across exposed sand flats at low tide, looking for plant and animal matter left by the retreating water. They walk forwards, instead of sideways like other crabs. When disturbed they quickly burrow under the surface, corkscrewing into an instantly made shallow cavity in the sand.
Distribution
Southern Australia.
Habitat
Sand areas and mud flats.
More Information
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Animal Type
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Animal SubType
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Brief Id
Crab with spherical blue body with a red-purple patch on side. Observed in large dense 'armies' at low tide.
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Colours
Blue, White, Red, Brown
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Maximum Size
2 cm
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Habitats
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Diet
Carnivore
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Diet Categories
Animal matter
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Endemicity
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Commercial
No
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Conservation Statuses
CITES: Not listed, FFG Threatened List: Not listed, EPBC Act 1999: Not listed, IUCN Red List: Not listed
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Depths
Shore (0-1 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, 1852
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Common Name
Soldier 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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Genus
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Species Name
platycheles
