Common Name: Rough Box Crab

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region from the Red Sea to Japan and Polynesia. In Australia recorded from the West Australian coast around Exmouth, the Gulf of Carpentaria and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland south to central New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Frequents sand and rocky substrates, often burrowing into the sand for concealment. Depth from 1 – 218 m.

Additional Notes: This family of crabs have large claws that are flattened from side to side and held close to the front of the body giving a box like appearance. Grows to 6 cm carapace width. 

References: Identification thanks to Peter Davie, former Senior Curator, Crustacea, Queensland Museum, Brisbane.

Diana Jones, Gary Morgan, A Field Guide to Crustaceans of Australian Waters, Western Australian Museum, Reed Publishers, Sydney, 1994. p.140.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=calappa+gallus. Accessed 08/08/2019.

Palomares, M.L.D. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. SeaLifeBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.sealifebase.org, version (06/2018). https://www.sealifebase.ca/summary/Calappa-gallus.html. Accessed 08/08/2019.