General Description

Body flat and wide, rounded head, red to pink-brown. Up to 20 cm long (head to tail tip).

Biology

Balmain Bugs burrow in sand, leaving only their stalked eyes poking up into the water above. The flat plates at the front of the head are a pair of modified antennae, instead of the whip-like ones on other crustaceans.

Distribution

Southern Australia.

Habitat

Areas with soft sediment, including sand and mud, to depth of 250 m.

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