Halloween moon crab

Gecarcinus quadratus

A colourful land crab from the family Gecarcinidae.

Gecarcinus quadratus is found in mangrove, sand dunes, and rainforests along the Pacific coast from Mexico south to Panama. Previously it has also been reported from the Pacific coast of northwestern South America, but in 2014 this population was recognized as a separate species, G. nobili.

Classification

  • Class

    Malacostraca

  • Domain

    Eukaryota

  • Family

    Gecarcinidae

  • Genus

    Gecarcinus

  • Infraorder

    Brachyura

  • Kingdom

    Animalia

  • Order

    Decapoda

  • Phylum

    Arthropoda

  • Species

    G. quadratus

  • Suborder

    Pleocyemata

  • Subphylum

    Crustacea

Vernacular Name

Halloween moon crab

Binomial Name

Gecarcinus quadratus

Other Names

Red land crab

Whitespot crab

Halloween crab

Moon crab

Halloween moon crab

Mouthless crab

Harlequin land crab

References