Marbled rock crab

Description:

I found this little crab near the rocks while I was on the beach with my niece: we've "trapped" it in the bucket for a few minutes, because it was running too fast on the sand and we couldn't photograph it. We released it after a few moments. It is dark violet brown, with yellow marbling, and with a body up to 36 millimetres (1.4 in) long. It is an omnivore, feeding on algae and various animals including mussels and limpets

Habitat:

It is widespread in Southern Europe, from the Black Sea to the Moroccan coast, and along the Atlantic coasts of Portugal, Spain and France, and was observed as early as 1996 as far north as Southampton in the English Channel. This range expansion may be due to the warming of the surface waters.