Need info on Spider Decorator Crab.

[Dor10]

ok well i dont know if thats the correct name but he has eight legs and two claws. A large rock shaped body with black eyes kindaon the side of what looks like the head....

i searched all over reef central trying to find some good info on these little buggers cuz ive been very interested in them since i got it.

my question is every once in awhile he will open up the area that i would think would be its stomache. it opens like a jaw or mouth and inside are like meaty flaps that almost look like gills or somethingbut the he will sit there with it open and probee around with his claws inside of it for awhile as if he were cleaning it or trying to get something out ...ill try and get a picture of him doing it if i didnt explain it well enough.

and if anyone has any other info on these guys that wwould be appreciated...cuz no matter how much i search the web all it tells me is that they decorate themselves which i already knew haha.

 

[billsreef]

What your looking at is the crap cleaning the pleopods that are tucked under the abdominal flap. It's also possible that the crab is a she with eggs attached to the pleopods, as that is when that sort of cleaning activity is most commonly observed.

 

[Dor10]

thanks a lot bill thats exactly what i wanted to know!