Common Name: Common Moon Crab

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, from south east Asia to Fiji and Vanuatu. In Australia recorded from around Exmouth in Western Australia, across the north of the continent, throughout the Great Barrier Reef south to northern New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Frequents sandy areas, depth to 20 m.

Additional Notes: Yellowish in colour with fine black spots, carapace has two well developed lateral spines. Carnivorous and facultative scavengers that prey mainly on crustaceans and mollusks. Smaller individuals prey on small, soft-shelled species while larger individuals eat slow-moving invertebrates like anomurans, bivalves and gastropods. Grows to carapace width of around 50 mm.

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

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/Matuta-victor.html. Accessed 08/08/2019.

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