crabs

Eurynolambrus australis H. Milne Edwards and Lucus, 1841
Class Malacostraca Order Decapoda Infraorder Brachyura Family Majidae
classification
triangle crab
1.5 cm
morphology surface substrate habitat
main image: Shane Ahyong, inset image: Pete Notman
Rocky
Shore
Carapace triangular and broad, expanding laterally to cover the bases of the legs. Chelipeds
long, surface coarse, rough and pitted. Walking legs flattened and irregularly crested. Chelipeds
with purple fingers, inner surfaces white. Carapace ranging from dark red-orange and irregularly
mottled with white to grey-brown. Antennules pale yellow, eyestalks often deep red above and pale
beneath. Legs often mottled with white, orange and dark red.
Endemic, widespread around New Zealand including Stewart and Chatham Islands. A littoral species
found on rocky, muddy shores, moderately exposed coasts, occasionally under boulders covered by
coralline algae and in large, low tidal pools. Also found offshore (inner shelf), frequently associated
with bryozoans. Intertidal to 80 m.
It could also be……….
Juveniles of Metacarcinus novaezealandiae
Griffin, D. J. G. (1966) The marine fauna of New Zealand: spider crabs, family Majidae (Crustacea, Brachyura). New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Memoir,
35: 1–111.
Yaldwyn, J.C., Webber, R.W. (2011) Annotated checklist of New Zealand Decapoda (Arthropoda: Crustacea). Tuhinga 22: 171-272.
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