#decapoda

Thinstripe Hermit Crab (Clibanarius vittatus). Family Diogenidae, order Decapoda.

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TODAY'S FACT IS

Did you know that Randall's Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus randalli) is coloured like a candy cane? This red and white striped shrimp has a symbiotic relationship with Randall's Prawn Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli). The fish and the shrimp share a burrow. The fish is the eyes and security system for the burrow, while the shrimp gives shelter and a safe food source (small invertebrates in the substrate).

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Gippsland Burrowing Crayfish Engaeus hemicirratulus

A crayfish found in south Victoria, Australia.

East Gippsland Burrowing Crayfish Engaeus orientalis

A freshwater crayfish from southeastern Australia. A study found they constructed a burrow consisting of a network of approximately ten individual ‘runways’ located underneath a boulder leading to a central chamber.

Least Concern

Although they look like they belong on the runway, the elegant squat lobster's vivid coloration is actually a form of camoflage. These tiny crustaceans live on plant-like creatures called crinoids, or feather stars. Their hosts are brightly colored, so to blend in Allogalathea elegans pulls out all the stops!

Eiconaxius dongshaensis

A species of mud lobster found in the East China Sea.

Lesser Blue Crab Callinectes similis

Found in the Western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico from the United States to Colombia. Callinectes similis lives in marshes and estuaries, being the dominant crab in open bays. Its diet includes plants, fish, polychaetes, other crustaceans.