crabs

Neommatocarcinus huttoni (Filhol, 1886)
Class Malacostraca Order Decapoda Infraorder Brachyura Family Goneplacidae
classification
policeman crab
morphology surface substrate habitat
20 cm
images: Pete Humphries
Carapace smooth, very wide (much wider at front than rear) and pointed at each lateral margin
with a strong lateral spine. Eye on extremely long stalks. Chelipeds equal in size but very slender
and elongate, male chelipeds larger than female. Fingers are thin and pointed, walking legs slender.
Colourful. Yellowish reddish orange carapace, eyestalks blackish brown near tip. Chelipeds and
legs mostly creamy white, but can be red, orange, yellow and purple in places.
Endemic, Widespread around New Zealand including Stewart and Chatham Islands. Occurs in
variety of habitats including rocky reefs amongst seaweeds, wharf pilings, under rocks, among
sponges and other fouling, sand/mud sediments. Common but tend to be deeper water, from 20 m
but more commonly shelf and slope.
to 600m
It could also be……….
Hemiplax hirtipes
Takeda, M. & Miyake, S. (1969) A small collection of crabs from New Zealand. Occasional Papers of the Zoological Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu
University (OHMU), 2(8): 157–293.
Yaldwyn, J.C., Webber, R.W. (2011) Annotated checklist of New Zealand Decapoda (Arthropoda: Crustacea). Tuhinga 22: 171-272.
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