Ghost Crab – Feeling Crabby? - D200, handheld, f9, 1/800, ISO 200, 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light
This Ghost Crab (Ocypode quadrata) image was taken on the Gulf coast of Florida while I still lived there. Quite often people miss seeing them because they blend with the color of the sand so well and they can scurry down their holes very quickly. Crabs can move in all directions but they usually move sideways. Crabs are from the order Decapoda and they all have ten legs. Ghost Crabs breathe through gills, so they do have to return to the seawater to wet the gills. They also release thier eggs into the salt water which then develop into marine larvae.
The size of crabs is measured across the carapace and the measurement does not include the legs, ghost crabs are about 1 1/2 inches across the carapace.
I found that if I could locate a ghost crab burrow and sit very quietly close to it that they would slowly creep out far enough for me to get some photos.