Tasmanian Giant Crab

Pseudocarcinus gigas

Tasmanian Giant Crabs are some of the largest crabs in the world. While they aren't as long-limbed at the Japanese Spider Crabs, they are incredibly heavy. These massive crustaceans can weigh over 20lbs (9kg) and sport a large claw that is 17in (43cm) long!

As the name suggests, Tasmanian Giant Crabs can be found off the coast of Tasmania and southern Australia. They live at depths of between 20 and 600m, but are most common in the 200m area. They are long lived and slow growing.

Females of the species are actually decent parents, as far as invertebrates go. They will carry their eggs with them for up to fourth months. What's pretty spectacular is that their can be almost 2 million eggs!

Since the early 20th century, Tasmanian Giant Crabs had been caught  up as a byproduct of Lobster fishing. In 1992 it became possible to fish for the Giant Crabs directly, and the industry has been carefully monitored and regulated. These careful actions allow for the Crabs to be taken without causing over-fishing and damage to species balance within the ecosystem.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : Australia

Size : Length up to 5ft (1.5m)

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Subphylum : Crustacea -- Class : Malacostraca
Order : Decapoda -- Family : Menippidae -- Genus : Pseudocarcinus-- Species : P. gigas

Giant Tiger Prawn

Penaeus monodon

Today we learn all about the Giant Tiger Prawn, one of the most widely distributed Shrimp in the world. They can be found throughout the coastal regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and have the potential to become a troublesome invasive species in the Gulf of Mexico.

Giant Tiger Prawns are members of the Shrimp Infraorder. Two major differences between Shrimp and Prawns are the number of claws (3 sets in Prawns, 2 in Shrimp) and the abdominal bend that exists in Shrimp but not in Prawns.

When you think of Shrimp, you don't usually imagine something very large. Jumbo Shrimp being an oxymoron and all that. But Giant Tiger Prawns can grow to be a foot long! Their large size has led them to be farmed for food in some areas.

In the past few months, a handful of Giant Tiger Prawns have been found in the Gulf of Mexico. Their large size and huge appetite could severely upset the balance in that ecosystem. No one is sure yet where the Prawns came from, or how much effect they could have, but they could be incredibly damage to to the native Crustacean populations.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Indian and Pacific Oceans
Size : Length up to 1ft (30cm)

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Malacostraca -- Order : Decapoda
Family : Penaeidae -- Genus : Penaeus -- Species : P. monodon

Cape Lobster

Homarinus capensis

The Cape Lobster is a species of Crustacean that lives off the coast of South Africa. The main things to know about these guys is that they are incredibly elusive. From 1792 to 1992 only fourteen specimens were collected.

In 1992 the discovery of one of these rare Lobsters prompted a surge in discovery, and another 20 or so have been identified since... though most have been as parts regurgitated by fish.

Why are Cape Lobsters so hard to find? South Africa's waters have been more explored, studied, and cataloged than any other country's on the continent, why is the story here? Well, the Cape Lobsters are very small, especially when compared to the lobsters we normally think of. Their entire length is only around 4in, and their main carapace tops out around 2. This keeps them out of most Lobster traps.

Another cause for their elusiveness is that very little is known about their habitat and biology, and much of the existing information has been proven incorrect (they don't live in fresh water, for example). Cape Lobsters most likely live in rocky substrate areas, which are difficult to dredge or trawl in, so the Lobsters don't show up as a bycatch.

Cape Lobsters were once placed in the same genus as their larger American and European cousins. In 1995 it was determined that their relationship is more distant than previously thought, and they are now members of a monotypic genus.

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IUCN Status : Data Deficient
Location : South Africa
Size : Length up to 4in (10cm)

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Subphylum : Crustacea -- Class
: Malacostraca
Order : Decapoda -- Family : Nephropidae -- Genus : Homarinus -- Species : H. capensis

Poli's Stellate Barnacle

Chthamalus stellatus

Did you know that Barnacles, those weird bumpy things that attach themselves to rocks, are not only animals, but they are Crustaceans just like Crabs and Lobsters? Let's learn about one species today!

These Barnacles, named for Italian biologist Giuseppe Saverio Poli, can be found in Southern Europe and off the coasts of England and Ireland. They attach themselves to rocks and other firm objects in inter-tidal zones. Once attached, the Barnacles don't really go anywhere. They feed by reaching their tiny legs out from their shell and latching on to plankton and debris.

Poli's Stellate Barnacles have chalky-white shells that have kite-shaped openings as juveniles, and oval openings as adults. Underneath that shell, their tissue is bright blue with black and orange markings. The Barnacles are usually cone-shaped, but they become more tubular in crowded areas. They grow to a size of around 14mm, but the size is dependent on their habitat and food supply.

One thing I found particularly interesting is that all Poli's Stellate Barnacles are hermaphrodites. If isolated, the Barnacles can actually self reproduce, though in most cases they will take on a male or female role. "Male" Barnacles have very long sexual organs that they can use to search for "Females" in the nearby area. Keep in mind that this whole time the Barnacle itself remains latched on to a surface, and does not otherwise move. "Females" keep their fertilized eggs inside their shell with them until they hatch, and there can be up to 4,000 eggs at a time!

After hatching, the larvae are free-swimming and go through several molts until they hit their Cyprid stage. At this point in their life they are completely unable to feed, and must find a rock or something else to latch on to in order to metamorphose into their final shelled adult form. These Barnacles can live up to 5 years, and reach full maturity after around 10 months.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Europe
Size : Diameter up to 14mm

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Subphylum : Crustacea -- Class : Maxillopoda
Order : Sessilia -- Family : Chthamalidae -- Genus : Chthamalus -- Species : C. stellatus

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus

The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws!

Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be!

While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long!

Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : Central and South America
Size : Carapace length 2in (5cm)

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Subphylum : Crustacea -- Class : Malacostraca
Order : Decapoda -- Family : Gecarcinidae -- Genus : Gecarcinus -- Species : G. quadratus

Parabogidiella Shrimp

Parabogidiella ??

I just love new species, don't you? And today's animal is so new that it doesn't even have a species name yet!

Meet the newest member of the Parabogidiella genus. This tiny little half-inch Shrimp-like creature was discovered just last month in an underground pool in New Mexico.

Like many cave dwellers it lacks skin pigmentation, and it is also blind. Scientists found it in a subterranean body of water in the Carlsbad Caverns. The cave has been explored before, but this is the first time water samples were taken. These little Crustaceans were down there this whole time, and may have been in that cave for thousands of years, right under our noses!

There isn't much else to say, yet, about this new critter. But fingers are crossed that it will get a name soon!

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : New Mexico
Size : Length around .5in (1.3cm)

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Malacostraca -- Order : Amphipoda
Family : Bogidiellidae -- Genus : Parabogidiella -- Species : P. ?