Calappa calappa is one of the box crabs. This species gets fairly large and lives mostly in lagoon sandy areas and Halimeda patches. Buried in sand during the day, it emerges at night to feed, using its powerful pincers to break up mollusk shells. When disturbed, it buries in the sand, stirring the sand up with its legs and pushing it away with its large, flattened claws. We refer to this one as the Darth Vader crab due to its carapace's resemblance to the evil one's helmet.
The one below is missing a claw.
Created 12 September 2018