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Project Noah Nature School
Metopograpsus messor
The species exhibits sexual dimorphism. Males, as pictured, tend to have more purple and/or red coloration.
Rocky tide pool in the Pacific ocean.
This appears to be underwater mating behavior. During this behavior, the purple crab repeatedly flexed its claws and picked at the other's shell. Note the algae growing on either individual.
Mating behavior, males tend to have more purple on the claws. Purple color is especially bright on a similar species, M. thukuhar: http://www.marinelifephotography.com/mar...
Yes, that's interesting. They could be different species. Whether they are or not, it's still an interesting spotting. I'd like to see if you find out anything new about them.
It's difficult to see, but I believe the one with the exposed underside looks like a female. The position their in doesn't seem like typical crab coitus though, so I'm not really positive of what is going on here.
Spotted on Jan 3, 2013
Submitted on Mar 4, 2013
