SOLITARY ISLANDS
UNDERWATER
RESEARCH GROUP, INC.

Species Index

Calcinus spicatus
(Forest, 1951)

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the South Pacific region with recordings from New Caledonia, Vanuatu and French Polynesia. In Australia recorded from the Coral Sea in Queensland, Elizabeth and Middleton Reef and Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Frequents areas or rocky and coral reefs, often associating with branching corals. Depth to 40 m.

Additional Notes: Pinkish-red colouration with darker reddish claws, walking legs with distinct broad pale bands. Eye stalks orange with a white distal band. A small species with a carapace length of around 4 – 8 mm. 

References: Poupin J. and M. Juncker, 2010 – A guide to the decapod crustaceans of the South Pacific. Published by CRISP and SPC, Noumea, New Caledonia, 320 pp., 366 photographs. 

Atlas of Living Australia at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=calcinus+spicatus. Accessed 16/03/2019.