Seaweed decorator crab

Taxobox
name = Seaweed decorator crab


image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
subphylum = Crustacea
classis = Malacostraca
ordo = Decapoda
infraordo = Brachyura
familia = Majidae
genus = "Naxia"
species = "N. tumida"
binomial = "Naxia tumida"
binomial_authority = (Dana, 1852)

The seaweed decorator crab, "Naxia tumida", is a small crab of the family Majidae (with a carapace up to 1.6 inches (4 cm) in diameter) that is common in rocky intertidal and subtidal areas on the temperate coasts of Australia, including parts of South Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland. It is usually found covered in seaweed that acts as camouflage, attached to the hooks on its shell. It attaches the algae or seaweed with a secretion that becomes adhesive when hardened. This habit gives the seaweed decorator crab its common name.

Other species in the Majidae family are also sometimes called "decorator crabs" or "velcro crab". Some of these species use sponges or sea anemones instead of seaweed.

The seaweed decorator crab was discovered by the United States Exploring Expedition and described by James Dwight Dana. The syntypes appear to have been lost.

References

* [http://www.faunanet.gov.au/wos/factfile.cfm?Fact_ID=62 Australian Museum page on Naxia tumida]
* [http://www.deh.gov.au/cgi-bin/abrs/fauna/details.pl?pstrVol=MALACOSTRACA;pstrTaxa=4671;pstrChecklistMode=1 Australian Faunal Directory page]