Common Name: Blue Mottled Swimmer Crab
Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, from the Red Sea to the Philippines, Japan and Fiji. In Australia recorded from around Exmouth in Western Australia across the north of the continent, throughout the Great Barrier Reef, northern New South Wales south to Trial Bay.
Ecological Notes:Frequents coastal waters, associated with soft bottoms, rocks, coral reefs and sea grasses. Depths from intertidal to 40 m.
Additional Notes: Colour variable, blue, green and brown. Characteristically for the family the last leg is flattened for swimming and usually has five teeth on either side of the carapace. Feeds on a variety of mussels, macroalgae and small invertebrates. Grows to 75 mm carapace width.
References: Identification thanks to Peter Davie, former Senior Curator, Crustacea, Queensland Museum, Brisbane.
Davie, Peter. Wild Guide to Moreton Bay and Adjacent Coasts. Second Edition. Published by Queensland Museum. Vol 2, p. 240.
Diana Jones, Gary Morgan, A Field Guide to Crustaceans of Australian Waters, Western Australian Museum, Reed Publishers, Sydney, 1994. p.157.
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/Thalamita-danae.html. Accessed 08/08/2019.
Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=thalamita+danae. Accessed 08/08/2019.