Rough box crab
Calappa gallus
(Herbst, 1803)

Description:
Surface of the carapace rough, covered with nodules and ridges. The color of the crab is orange to orange-brown with yellow beneath.
The front of the carapace and the upper part of the claws are covered with dark red or reddish-brown spots. The legs are yellow with fine red lines.
Often encrustations on the shell make the coloring obscure.
Size: carapace up to 7 cm. wide.

Habitat:
It lives on sandy bottoms.
Depth: ranges from 1 m down to 15 m.

Distribution:
Occasional all throughout the Caribbean.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Crustacea
Order Decapoda
Suborder Reptantia
Genus Calappa
Species Calappa gallus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Calappa gallus (Herbst, 1803)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Rough box crab [English]
Yellow box crab [English]

Humann, P., 1992. Reef Creature Identification - Florida Caribbean Bahamas, (ed. N. Deloach). New World Publications, Inc., Paramount Miller Graphics, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida.

Voss, G.L., 1976. Seashore life of Florida and the Carribbean. Banyan Books, Inc. Miami, Florida.

No distribution map was available at OBIS the last time we checked. Retry now.

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