Smooth Box Crab

The Smooth Box Crab belongs to the family Calappidae. These unique looking crabs can be found in the Indo West Pacific Ocean in the intertidal zone on the sandy bottoms near reefs.

This species of marine crab comes in a variety of patterns and colors. Some are a light brown or dark brown color, while others have red-brown spots. Because of this, the smooth box crab can go by a few other names like the giant box crab or the red spotted box crab. They have a smooth rounded body that has a part extended off the sides. This extended part curves downward and covers their walking legs. They are also capable to pull their claws in and cover their entire front body including the eyes creating a “box” shape (another name they get called because of this trait is the shameface crab).

This nocturnal (active at night) crab has a back that is slanted downward so that it has quick access in and out of the sand to hide from predator or when hunting. Though you can’t really tell, their claws are different sizes and have their own function. The right claw has a large hook and is used for crushing up mollusk to eat while the left is used to assist the right claw by picking out pieces from the crushed shell.

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In Smooth Box Crabs, the male tends to be bigger than the females. The male will climb on the backs of the females and grab them with their claws. After this prolonged process, the eggs will stay under the females telford until hatching.