Everything about The Halloween Crab totally explained
The
Halloween crab (
Gecarcinus quadratus), also known as the
Moon crab,
Mouthless crab or
Harlequin land crab, is a colourful
land crab from the family
Gecarcinidae. It is found in mangrove, sand dunes and rainforest along the
Pacific coast from
Mexico south to
Peru. The
taxonomy in relations to the
Atlantic Gecarcinus lateralis is disputed, with many considering it and
G. quadratus to be
conspecific.
In the pet-trade it's sometimes confused with the
African Cardisoma armatum (sometimes also referred to as the Moon crab) or the primarily
Caribbean Gecarcinus ruricola. Unlike these,
G. quadratus combines a pair of largely purple claws, reddish-orange legs, and an almost entirely blackish (actually dark brownish if seen well)
carapace with a pair of yellow, orange or maroon spots behind the eyes, and an additional pair of whitish spots on the central-lower carapace. Additionally, the name Halloween crab sometimes leads to confusion with the entirely different
halloween hermit crab. The carapace of
G. quadratus may reach a length of 5 cm (2 in).
This
nocturnal crab digs burrows - sometimes as long as 1,5 m (5 ft) - in the coastal rainforests of
Central America, and is common in parts of
Costa Rica. There it lives in the forest at least some of its adult life, but needs to return to the ocean to breed. They have gills that need to be moist all the time. If not, they die. The halloween crab is very
territorial and will defend itself if threatened. It is largely
herbivorous, and consumes
leaf litter and
seedlings. They will, however, also take animal matter if available.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Halloween Crab'.
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