Rising Tide Images
Ghost Crab
Shoveling sand to build a burrow and an adjacent sandcastle, this horn-eyed ghost crab scoops and carries with the large left claw then flings the sand with the smaller right claw. Interestingly, individuals are right or left clawed (laterality). Males heap the excavated sand high in the intertidal zone of a broad sandy beach, thought to be a territorial signal to other crabs or to attract a potential mate. Running along the beach at up to 10 mph, they must be the fastest crustacean. Ghost crabs range across the Indo-Pacific and Polynesia. This one’s horns on top of its eye stalks seem a bit diminutive.
Ghost Crab
Shoveling sand to build a burrow and an adjacent sandcastle, this horn-eyed ghost crab scoops and carries with the large left claw then flings the sand with the smaller right claw. Interestingly, individuals are right or left clawed (laterality). Males heap the excavated sand high in the intertidal zone of a broad sandy beach, thought to be a territorial signal to other crabs or to attract a potential mate. Running along the beach at up to 10 mph, they must be the fastest crustacean. Ghost crabs range across the Indo-Pacific and Polynesia. This one’s horns on top of its eye stalks seem a bit diminutive.