Macrophthalmus crassipes

Seagrass sentinel crab
On Nudgee Beach, Queensland
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Macrophthalmidae
Genus: Macrophthalmus
Subgenus: Macrophthalmus (Macrophthalmus)
Species:
M. crassipes
Binomial name
Macrophthalmus crassipes

Macrophthalmus crassipes is a species of sentinel crab in the family Macrophthalmidae, found around China, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, and the Caroline Islands.[1] In Australia it is found from north Western Australia through to New South Wales.[1] Common names include the seagrass sentinel crab[2] and the orange spined sentinel crab. On adult males there is a substantial tooth on the lower claw and a much smaller tooth on the upper claw, and noticeable orange spines on the “wrist” (carpus) of the clawed leg and on the palm of the clawed leg.[1] The carapace is covered in small granules, and is up to around 37 mm (1.5 in) across.[3][4] It is a burrowing crab, and lives in open tidal flats, muddy or with sandy mud, low on tidal creek banks, and adjacent mangroves.[1]

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