Asian shore crab

Crabs found while surfing.

Scientific name	Hemigrapsus sanguineus
English name	Asian shore crab
Japanese name	Isogani
Classification	Malacostraca
Classification details	Decapoda Varunidae
Full length	about 25mm.
Distribution	Widely distributed in the western Pacific

Characteristics

Crabs commonly found along the coast. It has a flat shell, and the left and right claws are the same size. The body color is reddish purple with green and yellow spots from the back to the walking legs. The belly is whitish. Most of them are less than 3cm in length, but some grow up to about 4cm.

Miso soup

Although it is not an edible crab, it can be eaten in miso soup. It is also called "Hanasaki crab" because it turns bright red when boiled. You can catch it near the fishing spot, so you can eat it.

Breeding Asian shore crab

You can easily catch them on the beach, so you can take them home and raise them. The sea crab will die in fresh water, so it must be raised in sea water. Keep the water clean and feed small fish and shellfish. It is necessary to prepare artificial seawater at a pet shop or the like.

Ecology

Inhabits rocky areas on the coast and gaps between tetrapods, and hides from predators such as birds and black sea bream. It is omnivorous and eats seaweed, small fish, and shellfish. Breeds from late April through summer.

There are many of them on the shore, and they sometimes fight with each other over food and territory.

Habitat

Caught in a tetrapod at Katagai Beach in Kujukuri Beach, Chiba Prefecture. With a shell less than 3 centimeters long, it was easy to catch, but it was painful to get my fingers caught in the scissors. There was one that was bigger than this individual, but I was afraid to catch it with my bare hands. In the tetrapods, there were many seaweeds, shellfishes, and other things that the crabs liked.