PORT PHILLIP BAY


Little Shore Crab 

Brachynotus spinosus (Milne Edwards, 1853)

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Carapace wider than long; frontal width (frontal width of carapace, excluding orbital region) half fronto-orbital width (frontal width of carapace, including orbital region); widest in more posterior half; anterolateral margins slightly oblique, with 3 blunt teeth. Carapace finely granulate anteriorly, strongly depressed, with 2 postfrontal lobes; with 3 teeth on anterolateral margin behind orbital angle. Merus of maxilliped 3 as long as wide, not expanded distolaterally; exopod narrow. Walking legs without setae, merus with strong distal spine on upper margin. Brown-green with lighter mottling, sometimes with banded legs.

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:
Brachyura
Family:
Grapsidae
Subfamily:
Varuninae
Genus:
Brachynotus
Species:
spinosus

General Description

Body mottled brown, green or grey. Carapace rectangular with three pointed projections on each side. Eyes black. Up to 2 cm wide (carapace).

Biology

Little Shore Crabs are active scavengers on the rocky shore.

Habitat

Under rocks, sheltered and exposed intertidal areas, to depth of 10 m.

Reefs

Seagrass meadows

Soft substrates

Distribution guide

South-eastern Australia, including central Victorian.

Species Group

Crabs and allies › Crabs

Depth

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

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

2 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 709

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, Little Shore Crab, Brachynotus spinosus, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 06 May 2024, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/3875

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