Channel clinging crab
Mithrax spinosissimus
(Lamarck, 1818)
Description:
The largest spider crab in the region. The nearly circular carapace, legs and claws all bear spines and tubercles, those on the claws form a single row along the upper edge of the hand. The color of the carapace and walking legs is reddish-brown, the claws are purplish-gray.
Size: carapace up to 18 cm wide. When outstretched, the claws can span up to 60 cm.
Habitat:
It lives in and around rocks and rubble in shallow waters. Nocturnal.
Depth: ranges from 3 m down to 40 m.
Distribution:
Common to occasional all throughout the Caribbean.