Mithrax spinosissimus

Mithrax spinosissimus, also known as the West Indian spider crab, channel clinging crab, reef or spiny spider crab, or coral crab, is a species of spider crab that occurs throughout South Florida and across the Caribbean Islands.[2][3] The diet of this crab is largely unknown; however, it is considered a large omnivore, reaching size up to 2 kg, which has been noted to feed on algae and carrion.[4] Unlike crabs such as the blue crab, the West Indian spider crab is not commercially harvested for its meat, though it is said to be delicious.[2]

Mithrax spinosissimus
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Order:
Decapoda
Infraorder:
Brachyura
Family:
Majidae
Genus:
Mithrax
Species:
M. spinosissimus
Binomial name
Mithrax spinosissimus
(Lamarck, 1818)
Synonyms [1]
  • Damithrax spinosissimus
  • Maia spinosissimus
  • Maguimithrax spinosissimus

M. spinosissimus has a reddish-brown carapace and walking legs. The claws are smooth, purplish gray, with a single row of nodules along outer edge and blunt claw tips. The legs are covered with numerous short spines and nodules. It is the largest species of Caribbean reef crab.[3]

M. spinosissumus is common throughout the Caribbean, Florida and Bahamas; it can reach a length of up to 7 inches and has been found as deep as 130 feet. Often found in caves or beneath reef overhangs.[3]

It was made the type species of a separate genus Maguimithrax by Klompmaker et al. (2015).[5]

References
  1. Peter K. L. Ng; Danièle Guinot & Peter J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 17: 1–286. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06.
  2. Dara H. Wilber & T. Payson Wilber Jr. (1991). "Environmental influences on the growth and survival of West Indian spider crabs Mithrax spinosissimus in culture". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 146 (1): 27–38. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(91)90253-S.
  3. Humann, Paul; Ned DeLoach (2002). Reef Creature Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas (2nd ed.). Jacksonville, FL: New World Publications. pp. 224–225. ISBN 978-1-878348-31-9.
  4. Dara H. Wilber & T. Payson Wilber Jr. (1989). "The effects of holding space and diet on the growth of the West Indian spider crab Mithrax spinosissimus". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 131 (3): 215–222. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(89)90113-5.
  5. Adiël A. Klompmaker; Roger W. Portell; Aaron T. Klier; Vanessa Prueter; Alyssa L. Tucker (2015). "Spider crabs of the Western Atlantic with special reference to fossil and some modern Mithracidae". PeerJ. 3: e1301. doi:10.7717/peerj.1301. PMC 4636416. PMID 26557432.


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