Ornamental Spider Crab (Schizophrys aspera) — Habitat, Photos

Q: Where can you find Ornamental Spider Crab?

Ornamental Spider Crab can be found in: Egypt East, Laccadive Islands, Mariana Islands, Australia West, Saudi Arabia West, Oman North, Malaysia East, Taiwan, Marshall Islands, Malaysia West, Hawaii, Somalia East, Vanuatu, Sudan, Brunei, China, Myanmar, Eritrea, Australia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Qatar, India, Israel, USA West, Japan South, India East, India West, Thailand East, Thailand West, Israel South, Saudi Arabia East, Oman, Oman East, Somalia North, Australia East, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Vietnam, Seychelles, Cambodia, Indo-Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Iraq, Bangladesh, Polynesia, Singapore, Tanzania, Malaysia, Kuwait, Bahrain, USA, South Africa, Red Sea, Japan, Indonesia, Chagos Islands, Mozambique, Jordan, Palau, Philippines, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Micronesia, Egypt, Tonga and Samoa, Yemen, Mascarene Islands, Madagascar, Kiribati, Pakistan, Djibouti, Iran South, United Arab Emirates, Comoros, Fiji, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Somalia.

Schizophrys aspera is a species of crabs in the family Majidae (Typical Spider Crabs).

Description

The carapace behind the orbits is suborbicular and the upper surface not very convex and thickly covered with granules, among which are scattered sharp tubercles. The true rostrum moderately prominent; the pseudorostral spines are parallel or slightly incurved at tip, having a large accessory spine near the base on the outer border. The intercalated spine triangular; the postocular spine prominent, having a large accessory spine on the superior border. Behind the postocular tooth, the antero-lateral border has six equidistant marginal spines, one of which belongs to the hepatic region, the others to the branchial region and the two posterior are smaller, the last being deviated on the dorsal surface.
Subhepatic and epimeral regions are scattered with sharp spinules and the pterygostomial region with coarse granules. The basal segment of antenna is armed with two terminal spines, both being visible in dorsal view on either side of the pseudorostral spines. The infraorbital tooth is small but acuminate.
The arm and wrist of chelipeds are covered with sharp prominent spines, the palm is smooth and unarmed excepting one or two spinules near the base of the upper border; the fingers of male gape widely and their tips are hollowed; the movable finger has a larger tooth near the base. The ambulatory legs are densely covered with tomentum, the merus has a small terminal tooth on the upper border. Abdomen of both sexes consists of seven distinct segments.

Coloration: from orange-red to brown.

Distribution

Indo-Pacific, eastwards to Hawaii.

Habitat

Occurs from intertidal areas to a depth of 40 m. Found on rocks, especially near reefs. Benthic. Members of the order Decapoda are mostly gonochoric. Mating behavior: Precopulatory courtship ritual is common (through olfactory and tactile cues); usually indirect sperm transfer.