PORT PHILLIP BAY


Hairy Stone Crab 

Lomis hirta (Lamarck, 1818)

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Body symmetrical. Ocular scales absent. Antennal peduncle with 6 articles. Epistome with spine. 14 pairs of branchial gills. Pleopods 3-5 paired. Female pleopods 1 present. Uropods non-spatulate, vestigial in male. Male gonopods present. Pereopods 2-5 dactyli with claw; last pereopod vestigial.

Source: Poore, G.C.B. (2004) Marine decapod Crustacea of southern Australia. A guide to identification (with chapter on Stomatopoda by Shane Ahyong). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 574 pp.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Subclass:
Eumalacostraca
Superorder:
Eucarida
Order:
Decapoda
Suborder:
Pleocyemata
Infraorder:
Anomura
Family:
Lomisidae
Genus:
Lomis
Species:
hirta

General Description

Body grey, flattened and covered with hairs. Legs held close together and claws flat and wide. Antennae blue. Up to 3 cm wide (carapace).

Biology

Hairy Stone Crabs differ from true crabs because they only have three pairs of obvious legs besides the claws. They rely on their muddy appearance as a camouflage, clinging invisibly to the undersides of rocks rather than fleeing from predators.

Habitat

Under rocks on exposed rocky shores.

Reefs

Distribution guide

Southern Australia.

Species Group

Crabs and allies › False crabs

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)
Shallow (1-30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

3 cm

Diet

Carnivore

Harmful

Not harmful but a nip from claws could be painful.

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Species Code

MoV 1711

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Not listed
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Not listed

Author

article author Taylor, J.

Dr. Jo Taylor is the Sciences Collections Online Coordinator at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Poore, G.C.B.

Dr. Gary Poore is Principal Curator Emeritus at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Taylor, J. & Poore, G.C.B., 2011, Hairy Stone Crab, Lomis hirta, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 24 Dec 2024, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/3980

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