The Halloween Crab

Just in time for October, I give you one of the most obscure creatures that I have ever had the pleasure of reading about.

The Halloween Crab.

Family: Gecarcinidae - Land Crabs
Order: Decapoda (Brachyura) - Crabs
Class: Crustacea
Phylum: Arthropoda
Kingdom: Animalia
Red List status: Not Listed

Other common names for this species are: moon crab, harlequin land crab, Mexican land crab, and mouth-less land crab. I've also heard it be called Halloween moon crab and jack-o-lantern crab.

Habitat Range:

This species of crab is mostly found in near coastal areas from the Gulf of California in Mexico as far south as Columbia. It primarily lives in mangrove and lowland forests with it most often being found along riverbanks.

Physical Description: 

The Halloween crab has what appears to be a completely black carapace, although upon closer examination it is actually a really dark brown. It also has a bright reddish-orange body and limbs, AND PURPLE CLAWS! Two bright yellow to white triangular shaped 'eyes' decorate the front of the upper carapace, while there are two white spots on the rear of the carapace.

Behavior

This crab is active during the day time and can be seen most commonly during heavy rains. During the wet season, the crabs migrate in large numbers to the coast to have their offspring.

Diet: Adult crabs eat leaves and seeds, hoarding them from the surface and removing them to stash them in their burrows. In doing this they play a key role in the constructing of their forest habitat which makes them ecosystem engineers (meaning that they are basically responsible for the building of ecosystems. More on that here.) Young crabs forage along the coastline for small particles.

The removal of large amounts of leaf litter from top soils influences the amount of carbon that is being stored and has an effect on nutrient cycling, reducing the amount of carbon and mineral content of the topsoil and enriching the layers of soil below. The species also prefers to eat certain kinds of plants. This kind of thing helps keep the forests where these crabs dwell more diverse and also reduces tree density. Burrows that are established near the ocean can provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes once the crabs are done with them, and the species is the main food source for raccoons in areas where the two species share the same habitat.

Conservation Status; 

There is no data on this species, but it is obvious that it is beneficial to the forests that it dwells in. These animals can be purchased as pets but I think I should let out a warning: There has yet to be a successful breeding of this species in captivity, so all of the animals that are on the market are from the WILD. That means that these crabs are being captured in their natural habitat and sold, so if any readers out there happen to come across one of these for sale...I just figured that you ought to know.