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Grapsus grapsus
Common crab found along the coastline of pretty much all the islands in the Galapagos.
North Seymour island.
Spotted on Dec 16, 2012
Submitted on Dec 16, 2012
4 Comments
That's fascinating Peter! They were one of the few species that ran for cover whenever we got too close but I guess that is sensible behavior given their place in the food chain!
Thanks for this important piece of information, Karen! Another relevant observation is that, as you may have noticed, this crab voluntarily never enters into the water. It lives in the ocean as a larvae, but then carefully avoids ever going back. I worked on this beast for a while and my interpretation of this behaviour is that life under water is simply much more dangerous for them then outside. I studied them for a while and quite frequently saw octopuses going after the crabs by sneaking up to them just under the water level and then slamming one or several of their tentacles out and grabbing them. And not only octopuses would be after them under water. So, my hypothes is that pressure exerted by underwater predators is simply greater than pressure by the various herons, who of course are major predators on land, but often get only a leg or two - or three, - with the victim saving his life and regrowing the limbs in time.
Carol, apparently named after a Bahamian prostitute!
So she already has a name. Sally! HA! LOL! Great one!