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Grapsus grapsus
The Sally Lightfoot Crab is a typically shaped crab, with five pairs of legs, the front two bearing small, blocky, symmetrical pincers (chelae). The other legs are broad and flat, with only the tips touching the substrate. The crabs round, flat carapace is just over 8 - 12 centimetres (3 - 5 inches) in length. They are rather flat and low to the ground and have been called 'spider-like' or quadratic in shape. Young Sally Lightfoot Crabs are black or dark brown in colour and camouflage well on the black lava coasts of the Galapagos volcanic islands. Adults are quite variable in colour. Some are reddish-brown, some mottled or spotted brown, pink or yellow.
Spotted on Mar 24, 2012
Submitted on Nov 13, 2012
2 Comments
Another reason why the Galapagos is such a unique place
Thanks for these beautiful spottings! It is interesting to note that this crab species is found all along the central and south american costs, pacific and atlantic, - but only on Galapagos do the adults acquire this fabulous red and yellow coloration. It's intreaguing to speculate why this is so....