Shore crab

Characteristics

A species of the crab crab family with a lead-colored shell. It has a thick, solid shell and powerful pincers. The scissors are slightly pale in color and the same size on the left and right. The surface of the body is smooth, and white spots are lined up under the eyes. The sides of the carapace are sharp, and it looks like armor and is beautiful.

"Ashihara" means "field of reeds" and is often seen near tidal flats. In the Ariake Sea coast, it is sometimes called "Shiogani".

Ecology

It inhabits burrows about 3 cm in diameter that it digs in tidal flats and salt marshes. Active at night. They are omnivorous, roaming the sand looking for food, and when predators such as sandpipers and herons approach, they quickly flee into their burrows. In addition to eating reed leaves, it sometimes preys on small crabs. It also plays a role as a scavenger that decomposes organic matter.

Habitat

I took a picture of him sitting still on the ground in Higashiyoka Tidal Flat in Saga Prefecture. The carapace that looked like dull metal and the thick scissors were cool. It was conspicuous among fiddler crabs near the coast. Higashiyoka tidal flat has a fence set up near the sea, and a footpath continues for several kilometers inside it. There is also a grassland like a reed field on the side of the road, and if you look carefully, you can find various crabs.