Shore Crab
More information on Shore Crab
Metopograpsus messor (Forsskål, 1775)
Unlike the commercially exploited blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus) or ‘gabgoob’, that landed around 130,000 kg in Abu Dhabi Emirate in 2009, the illustrated shore crab (Metopograpsus messor) or ‘saratan ash-shati’ is commercially uninteresting, due to its small size (carapace width about 2 cm).
M. messor lives in mangroves (Avicennia marina) of Bu Tinah, as well as on rocky shores. The carapace and legs of the shore crab are mottled brownish green, while the claws are brownish red. It lives under rotting wood, and is capable of climbing trees. Its diet consists of leaves, algae, mollusks and crustaceans.
Classified as Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List.
