| Swamp Ghost Crab (Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763)) |
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Scientific name: Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) Common name: Swamp Ghost Crab Other names: Hairy Crab French name: Crabe à barbe, Crabe mantou. Order: Decapoda Family: Ucididae Size: Shell length: 3.2 to 5.8 cm; Shell width: 4.1 to 6.1 cm. Habitat : Mudflats often associated with mangroves. The Swamp Ghost Crab lives in a burrow approximately one meter deep located near the high tide mark and going down to the water table. The entrance to the burrow is blocked two or three hours before being covered by high tide and the crabs come out as soon as the water recedes. Food: Decaying plants stored in the burrow. Reproduction : Females lay eggs in water where the larvae develop. They return to land as soon as they transform into small crabs. Geographic area: American Atlantic coasts, from Florida to the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, West Indies, South America south to Uruguay. |
The Swamp Ghost Crab has a domed carapace tapering towards the rear. It varies in colour from ivory white to orange or purplish. There is an H-shaped mark on the back. It has five pairs of purple-coloured legs, the first pair being in the form of claws of unequal sizes. On males the other four pairs have long black hairs. |
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I don't remember if the tide was rising or falling but this Swamp Ghost Crab was taking its bath outside its burrow. |
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The H-mark on the top of the shell makes it easier to identify the species. |
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At the entrance of the burrow. |
André Bon January 2024