Cyclograpsus granulosus

Cyclograpsus granulosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Infraorder:	Brachyura
Family:	Varunidae
Genus:	Cyclograpsus
Species:	C. granulosus
Binomial name
Cyclograpsus granulosus H. Milne-Edwards, 1853 [1]

Cyclograpsus granulosus, the purple mottled shore crab or smooth shore crab,^[2] is an Australasian crab species.^[1]

Description

C. granulosus grows to a carapace width of about 38 millimetres (1.5 in),^[1] with a carapace mottled with red-brown or purple on yellow.^[1] The carapace's frontal regions are granulate, and its lateral margins are convex.^[1]

Ecology

C. granulosus is most commonly found on stony or boulder beaches.^[2] The species occupies both the supralittoral fringe (a region above the level washed by all tides, but subject to flying spray) and the midlittoral region (above the level not uncovered by all tides).^[2] However, the species typically occupies the upper midlittoral region.^[2] C. granulosus sometimes scrapes out shallow depressions beneath stones,^[2] and is most commonly found under boulders.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} E. Dane & G. C. B. Poore (2008). "Purple mottled shore crab (Cyclograpsus gramulosus)". Pest and Diseases Image Library. http://researchdata.museum.vic.gov.au/padil/pdfs/Cyclograpsus_granulosus.pdf. Retrieved January 27, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} D. J. G. Griffin (1971). "The ecological distribution of grapsid and ocypodid shore crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura) in Tasmania". Journal of Animal Ecology 40 (3): 597–621. JSTOR 3440.