Marine Wildlife Encyclopedia
Porcelain Crab Petrolisthes lamarckii
The flat, rounded body of the porcelain crab allows it to slip easily into small rock crevices to hide. However, if it becomes trapped by a predator or stuck beneath a rock, it can shed one of its claws in order to escape, and a new one will grow over time. This crab’s abdomen is folded under its body, but it can be unfolded and moved like a paddle when swimming.
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- Subphylum Crustacea
- Width_shell Up to in (2 cm)
- Habitat Pools on rocky beaches and shorelines
- Distribution Indian Ocean, Pacific coast of Australia, western Pacific
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