Calappa lophos

(Herbst, 1782)

Vernacular names
English : Red-streaked box crab
French : Crabe honteux à stries rouges

Classification
Class : Malacostraca
Order : Decapoda
Family : Calappidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
The species can grow up to 10 cm wide. Shell smooth and domed with two ridges at the back. Large pincers with rows of white spines on top. Coloration beige-brown with light stripes on back, brown spots and bands on pincers and edges.

Range and habitat
The species lives in the Indo-Pacific area, from the Persian gulf and east Africa to Taiwan, South Japan, south to Indonesia, Philippines and north Australia. Lives in all kinds of soft and sandy bottoms, down to 50 meters deep.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : NOT LISTED
CITES : Not listed
Status : The species has a large range and doesn’t seem to be threatened. It is occasionally caught by fishermen but has no commercial value.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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