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| crabs text index | photo index |
| Phylum Arthropoda > Subphylum Crustacea > Class Malacostraca > Order Decapoda > Brachyurans |
| Spotted-belly
forceps crab Ozius guttatus Family Oziidae updated Oct 08 Where seen? This large shy crab is sometimes seen on our Southern shores near rocky shores, sea walls and among coral rubble and near living reefs. It is more active at night, but even so, very quick to scuttle back into hiding when disturbed. Features: Body width 6-8cm. Large, oval body that is smooth and lacks patterns on the upperside. It has lots of tiny spots on its belly. Its eyes ha small spots. Pincer tips may be orange, reddish or brown. In a young crab, one of its pincers is enlarged, strong and armed with a curved tooth on the movable finger of its pincers. This tooth fits into the opening of a snail shell, and the pincer is used like a can-opener to carve a spiral opening in the snail shell. The other pincer is thin and used like a pair of chopsticks to pick out the snail from its shell. As the crab gets older and bigger, it develops a molar-like "tooth" on its enlarged pincer. This is used to crush snail shells. Sometimes 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 Semakau, Oct 05  |
 Spotted belly on the underside. |
 Two different kinds of pincers. |
 Plain smooth upper side. |
Spotted-belly forceps crabs on Singapore shores
 Sentosa, May 04 |
 One with a 'peeled' snail. |
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more photos of spotted-belly forceps crabs on Singapore shores
| Family
Oziidae recorded for Singapore from Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore *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
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| Acknowledgements Grateful thanks to Crabhunter for confirmation of ID. Links
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