Graceful kelp crab, kelp crab, spider crab, graceful rock crab, slender kelp crab • Pugettia gracilis
Whitish and reddish-brown graceful kelp crabs. Note the relatively smooth carapace, dark blue claw fingers with orange tips, and carapace decorated with kelp. Photos by Mike Munroe (top), Dawn Fizzard (left), and an ES 470 student (right).
Identification
The graceful kelp crab can be difficult to identify, as there are numerous crabs that are similar in basic appearance. Furthermore, this crab is extremely variable in colour, and is most often brown, yellow, or red, though it can also be white, orange, pink, or blue. Some distinguishing features are its relatively smooth carapace (bearing only a few bumps) and the dark blue claw fingers with orange or red tips. Click here for more identification information and some helpful photos.
Habitat & Range
This crab can be found in the low intertidal of rocky shores, in eelgrass or kelp beds or pilings to depths of 140 m. It is found in protected waters as well as more exposed outer coastlines. Its range extends from the Aleutian Islands south to Monterey, California.
Similar Species
There are numerous similar species that the graceful kelp crab can be mistaken for. The slender decorator crab (Oregeonia gracilis) has long, slender legs like the graceful kelp crab, but its carapace has a different shape. It has a much longer rostrum (front part of the carapace), and tends to be almost entirely covered in decorative material.
The northern or shield-backed kelp crab (Pugettia producta) is also similar in size and overall shape to the graceful kelp crab. However, it has a much smoother carapace that is distinctly shield-shaped, and tends to grow larger.
The cryptic kelp crab (Pugettia richii) is also very similar, but it is only found on or near exposed coastlines and has a very bumpy and spiny carapace with more sharply-projecting lateral teeth. It also has white claw tips as opposed to the slender kelp crab's blue and orange tips.
The many common names for this species, as seen above, certainly do not aid in identification.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/130344-Pugettia-gracilis
The graceful kelp crab can be difficult to identify, as there are numerous crabs that are similar in basic appearance. Furthermore, this crab is extremely variable in colour, and is most often brown, yellow, or red, though it can also be white, orange, pink, or blue. Some distinguishing features are its relatively smooth carapace (bearing only a few bumps) and the dark blue claw fingers with orange or red tips. Click here for more identification information and some helpful photos.
Habitat & Range
This crab can be found in the low intertidal of rocky shores, in eelgrass or kelp beds or pilings to depths of 140 m. It is found in protected waters as well as more exposed outer coastlines. Its range extends from the Aleutian Islands south to Monterey, California.
Similar Species
There are numerous similar species that the graceful kelp crab can be mistaken for. The slender decorator crab (Oregeonia gracilis) has long, slender legs like the graceful kelp crab, but its carapace has a different shape. It has a much longer rostrum (front part of the carapace), and tends to be almost entirely covered in decorative material.
The northern or shield-backed kelp crab (Pugettia producta) is also similar in size and overall shape to the graceful kelp crab. However, it has a much smoother carapace that is distinctly shield-shaped, and tends to grow larger.
The cryptic kelp crab (Pugettia richii) is also very similar, but it is only found on or near exposed coastlines and has a very bumpy and spiny carapace with more sharply-projecting lateral teeth. It also has white claw tips as opposed to the slender kelp crab's blue and orange tips.
The many common names for this species, as seen above, certainly do not aid in identification.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/130344-Pugettia-gracilis
References
Cowles, D. (2006). Pugettia gracilis Dana, 1851. Invertebrates of the Salish Sea. Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory. Accessed 25/04/2013.
Harbo, R.M. (2011). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 104.
Jensen, G.C. (1995). Pacific Coast Crabs and Shrimp. Monterey, CA: Sea Challengers. P. 21.
Authors and editors of page
Chanda Brietzke, Kelly Fretwell, and Brian Starzomski (2014).
Cowles, D. (2006). Pugettia gracilis Dana, 1851. Invertebrates of the Salish Sea. Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory. Accessed 25/04/2013.
Harbo, R.M. (2011). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 104.
Jensen, G.C. (1995). Pacific Coast Crabs and Shrimp. Monterey, CA: Sea Challengers. P. 21.
Authors and editors of page
Chanda Brietzke, Kelly Fretwell, and Brian Starzomski (2014).