 |
|
| crabs text index | photo index |
| Phylum Arthropoda > Subphylum Crustacea > Class Malacostraca > Order Decapoda > Brachyurans |
| Stone
or
Thunder crab Myomenippe hardwickii Family Menippidae updated Dec 08
Where seen? This sturdy crab is commonly seen on our Northern shores, sheltering among stones, coral rubble, rubbish and other hiding places. Features: Body width 10-12cm, smaller ones also often seen. Large rounded body, usually a drab grey or beige, and unmarked. Large pincers with black-tipped claws. It is identified by bright green eyes circled with red. Steady crab: When a stone is overturned, other crabs usually madly dash out helter skelter. The stone crab merely tucks its limbs under its body and remains motionless. In this way, predators overlook it as they focus instead on the more nervous crabs. It is also called the Thunder crab because of the mistaken belief that if the crab pinches you, only a clap of thunder will make it let go. This is of course untrue. To make any crab let go of your finger (or any other body part), place its walking legs gently on the ground, somewhere near a hiding place. It will shortly let go and run into the hiding place. It is best, in the first place, not to handle crabs so that they don't pinch you at all. What does it eat? The stone crab eats snails and clams, crushing their shells with its powerful pincers. Sometimes mistaken for Red egg crabs (Atergatis integerrimus), especially Stone crabs that are rather reddish. Red egg crabs have a similar shaped body but their eyes are all red and they usually have white dots on their body, although some may be plain. May also be confused with similar crabs in the same habitat. Here's more on how to tell apart big crabs with big pincers seen on the rocky shores and coral rubble. |
 Pulau Sekudu, Jan 05  Large sturdy pincers.  Green eyes ringed with red. |
Common
but usually well hidden, look carefully for them.
 Closer look at egg mass |
 With eggs Pulau Sekudu, Aug 05 |
Stone crabs on Singapore shores
 Changi, Jun 08 |
 A very red stone crab? |
 |
 Tuas, May 07 |
 |
 |
 Eating a jellyfish Beting Bronok, May 06 |
 Eating something shredded. Changi, Jun 08 |
 A tiny juvenile. Pasir Ris Park, Jul 08 |
more photos of stone crabs on Singapore shores
| Family
Menippidae recorded for Singapore from Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore
|
Links
|
|
|