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Ocypode sp.
Blue crab
Kewarra beach at night
Sorry about the quality. It was taken with a disposable camera then scanned. Perhaps O. cordimanus?
Spotted on Aug 29, 1996
Submitted on Aug 3, 2011
7 Comments
Thank you all! Unfortunately I no longer have the original image or the scanner to verify. I agree it resembles a ghost crab. Perhaps the Ocypode cordimanus? They seem to be able to have a bluish coloration although not to the extent of this photo.
Great information Satyen! I also looked at that crab due to the color but it doesn't seem to have the same shape.
it might just be a ghost crab, flash does intensify some colors and then it was scanned. With that much manipulation the color are bound to be different than what they really are. Just a thought.
I am not into crabs but maybe this is of some help: Portunus pelagicus (known as flower crabs, blue crabs, blue swimmer crabs, blue manna crabs or sand crabs) is a large crab found in the intertidal estuaries of the Indian and Pacific Oceans (Asian coasts) and the Middle-Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The name flower crab is used in east Asian countries while the latter names are used in Australia. The crabs are widely distributed in eastern Africa, Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The carapace can be up to 20 cm wide. They stay buried under sand or mud most of the time, particularly during the daytime and winter. The species is commercially important throughout the Indo-Pacific where they may be sold as traditional hard shells, or as "soft shelled" crabs, which are considered a delicacy throughout Asia. The species is highly prized as the meat is almost as sweet as the blue crab, although P. pelagicus is physically much larger.
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_fisher...
It has the look of a ghost crab (Genus Ocypode), though none ive looked at are that blue
Can anyone help ID this? I've been searching and can't find a crab with this much blue. It's been 15yrs since I saw it so I don't remember if it was really this blue or if perhaps my scanner did an auto color correction I wasn't aware of.
It was a thrill to find it and yes, amazing colors!
With those amazing colors... Thanks for sharing. Beautiful creature.