With this past weekend’s full moon (which I only saw briefly through the clouds) we had another nice low tide series. I didn’t end up braving the rain to make it down to the beach, but thought I would share this photo from a low tide at John Brown’s Beach earlier this summer. The Pygmy Rock Crab (Glebocarcinus oregonensis) is, as the name implies, fairly small. This one was maybe an inch and a half across the top. It’s also distinguished in part by its bumpy carapace (main shell). I don’t yet have enough experience to know how common (or at least easy to find) they are, but my impression is they are not unusual. Also, it’s my understanding that the brighter red highlights (seen in the photo above) are not typical, with most being a more uniform brick red color.
Questions:
- How common are these crabs?
- Where else can they be found around Sitka?
- What do they eat?
- What eats them?
- How long do they live?
More photos of Pygmy Rock Crabs from that day at the beach.
