Identifying A Crab

[Julia M. Lopez]

Hi, I'm new to the site and I'm joining in hopes to identify a crab that I found, I sadly don't have a photo, but I can describe it. It was around 5 inches wide, 8-9 if you include leg span, fairly stocky build, it was bright red all over, and it had many small white spots on the top of its exoskeleton, I found it while snorkeling in a shallow reef on the northern coast of Panama, in the Carribean sea. I must have been less than 100 feet out when I spotted it in a crevasse between some pieces of coral and rocks, and it couldn't have been more than 10 feet deep, although it seemed like it was trying to make its way deeper. I obviously wouldn't have gone so far if I could find an image of it online, so if anyone has any ideas of what it may have been, I would be super grateful. Thanks!

 

[Mike Ordner]

 

[Julia M. Lopez]

This looks sort of close to what I saw, but the crab I saw was a brighter shade of red. It was also rounded without spikes (I would have noticed the large side spikes). The water was very clear so I could get a good look at it even though it was more than 7 feet away from me at all times. There were definitely fewer spots, and the bright red color was more apparent. Thanks for the help though!

 

[Julia M. Lopez]

I think I may have found the crab I was looking for. The sizes that I'm finding are nearly exactly what I mentioned, and the look is almost dead on. Can anyone confirm that this site is valid? I'm not totally sure but I think this is it. |
V

 

[griss]

Being that it’s a college/university website, I think it’s probably legit.

 

[Julia M. Lopez]

Being that it’s a college/university website, I think it’s probably legit.

Alright, thanks. I'm pretty satisfied with the answer I got. Thanks to both of you guys.