 |
|
| crabs text index | photo index |
| Phylum Arthropoda > Subphylum Crustacea > Class Malacostraca > Order Decapoda > Brachyurans |
| Moon
crabs Family Matutidae updated Dec 12 Where seen? These crabs as pale and circular as a full moon are commonly encountered on our Northern shores. They are more active at night and are rarely seen by daytime visitors as they are then often buried in the sediments. Features: Body circular with a pair of long spikes on the sides. Their pincers fit against the body to form a somewhat box-like shape. All their walking legs are modified into paddles. Rather than for swimming, the paddle-shaped legs are more efficiently used as ‘spades’ to dig and bury itself. With eight little spades rotating rapidly, the crab disappears into the sand in an eyeblink. The large sturdy pincers grab any edible bits that the crab can handle. What do they eat? They eat worms, clams and other small animals, foraging more actively at night. A juicy dead fish, however, may lure them out of hiding even during the day. Human uses: These crabs are eaten in some other countries. Status and threats: Our moon crabs are not listed among the threatened animals of Singapore. However, like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities such as reclamation and pollution. Trampling by careless visitors also have an impact on local populations. |
 All the legs of the Moon crab are flattened into paddles. Changi May, 05  About to mate? |
 Swarming over a recently dead fish. Tanah Merah, Jul 10 |
 A huge dead crab, bliss! Changi, Oct 08 |
 Tiny one eating an injured worm. Chek Jawa, Feb 02 |
 Tanah Merah, Jul 11 |
 Buries itself in an eye blink. |
 |
Moon crabs on Singapore shores
| Family
Matutidae recorded for Singapore from Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore *Tan, Leo W. H. & Ng, Peter K. L., 1988, A Guide to Seashore Life. **Ng, Peter K. L. and Daniele Guinot and Peter J. F. Davie, 2008. Systema Brachyurorum: Part 1. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world. +added from our observation
|
|
Links
References
|
.
The Nature Society (Singapore), Singapore. 343 pp.|
|