Hairy Shore Crab

Common Name: Hairy Shore Crab

Scientific Name: Hemigrapsus oregonensis

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family: Animalia, Arthropoda, Malacostraca, Decapoda, Grapsidae

Diet: Scavenger, diatoms, green algae and meat if available

Habitat: Mud flats, algal mats, eelgrass beds, bays, estuaries, beaches

Range: Alaska to Mexico

Identification: Olive and brown carapace, with purple/black spotting, hairy legs, no purple spotting on white chela (claws)

Reproduction: Eggs develop underneath the female’s abdomen, 100-11,000 eggs

Behavior: Always stay together with Hemigrapsus nudus (purple shore crab)

Predators: Birds, fish and larger crabs