Blue coral crab
Trapezia cymodoce
One of the most common and widely distributed trapeziids. Brightly coloured coral crab, with smooth and polished carapace, dorsal surface purple to brown, with a row of orange/red spots across. Always found on scleractinian corals.
Morphology
Carapace is flattened and pentagonal; anterolateral margins almost straight with one acute tooth on each side.The front is broad and almost straight. Chelipeds are large in relation to the carapace, roughly the same size and the dorsal margin is covered in a delicate tomentum. Dactylus of chelipeds with black tips.
Evolution
This well-known species has a long synonymy list. The genus has 23 species with 11 present in Australia.
Behaviour
These crabs move quickly around the coral branches to avoid pradation. They are generally found in pairs on a coral colony. Feed on coral mucous and is believed to maintain the corals cleen and safer from predators such as the crown-of-thorns seastar.
Method of reproduction
Sexual
Habitat
Marine
Obligate symbionts of scleractinian corals of family Pocilloporidae
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific including Red Sea
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Subclass: | Eumalacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Superfamily: | Trapezioidea |
| Family: | Trapeziidae |
| Subfamily: | Trapeziinae |
| Genus: | Trapezia |
| Species: | cymodoce |
| Name Published Year: | 1801 |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name Authorship: | Herbst |
| Commercial Impact: | None |
| Conservation Assessment: | Least Concern |
Cite this page
Western Australian Museum Collections https://museum.wa.gov.au/online-collections/names/Trapezia-cymodoce
Accessed 19 May 2025
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