David Hall's Encounters in the Sea Photography

Crabs

Crabs are crustaceans, and along with shrimps and lobsters, they are called "decapods" - crustaceans with five pairs of legs. There are two major groups of animals called "crabs"- the brachyurans or "true crabs" and the anomurans or "false crabs". In general, true crabs have four pairs of legs used for walking, while false crabs have just two or three. True crabs have a short abdomen which is curled underneath their bodies; false crabs have a longer abdominal segment that is less well-protected. Hermit crabs are false crabs which use borrowed mollusk shells to house and protect their abdomens.

Decorator Crab, Australia	Decorator Crab, Thailand	Decorator Crab, Fiji
Porcelain Crab, New Guinea	Sponge Crab, Australia	Boxer Crab, Indonesia
Hermit Crab, Indonesia	Decorator Crab, Indonesia	Banded Anemone Crab, Indonesia
Box Crab, Indonesia	Rock Crabs, Massachussetts	Swimming Crab, Hawaii
Porcelain crab, Indonesia	Chirostylid Crab, Japan	Porcelain crab, Indonesia
Molting Crab, Indonesia	Molting Crab, Indonesia	Molting Crab, Indonesia
Zebra Crab, Indonesia	Arrow Crab, Dominica	Fairy Crab, Indonesia
Hermit Crabs, New Guinea	Hermit Crab, New Guinea	Hermit Crab, Australia