crabs

Cyclograpsus lavauxi H. Milne Edwards, 1853
Class Malacostraca Order Decapoda Infraorder Brachyura Family Varunidae
classification
smooth shore crab
morphology surface substrate habitat
1.5 cm
main image: Shane Ahyong, inset image: Chris Woods
Carapace oblong, slightly wider than long, very smooth. Eyes at corners of carapace. Front of
carapace between eyes straight-edged. Chelipeds larger in males compared with females. Legs
relatively long and smooth, with small tufts of setae projecting from bases of between first, second
and third legs. Carapace variable in colour but often speckled in dark reddish-brown on a variable
background which may be slate blue, bluish grey, fawn to yellowish brown. Legs with similar irregular
mottling dorsally. Ventral surfaces pale.
Endemic, widespread around New Zealand. Prefers upper intertidal area, under stones, on boulder
beaches ranging from open wave-exposed coasts to sheltered harbours. Also may be found in
estuarine mudflats, occasionally in burrows tunnelled by other species. One of the more ‘terrestrial’
crabs in NZ. Common at or about the high-tide level.
It could also be……….
Hemigrapsus sexdentatus
Campbell, B. M. & Griffin, D. J. G. (1966) The Australian Sesarminae (Crustacea: Brachyura): genera Helice, Helograpsus nov., Cyclograpsus and Paragrapsus.
Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 14(5): 127–174.
McLay, C. (1988) Crabs of New Zealand. Leigh Laboratory Bulletin 22.
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