The False Arrow crab, Metoporhaphis calcarata. So dainty; a wee fairy in the algae.
In 2007, I had the good fortune of reconnecting with my best high-school buddy, Alex Kerr. Hadn’t seen him in nearly 25 years. We took a tour of our old stomping grounds on Anna Maria Island, then drove down the coast and stopped at one of my favorite beachcombing beaches: Caspersen Beach, in Venice, FL.
Alex has always been one to turn over every rock or branch he finds, looking for whatever interesting life form might spring forth from the darkness. I guess that’s what makes him a good biologist.
This time we were looking for sharks teeth for him to take back to his son, Roy, on Guam. Alex’s keen eye for the obscure focused on this fragile little creature. My incompetence with a camera knew no bounds as I tried to get an in-focus photograph of the little guy. The photo above is the best I could muster.
I’ll bet you’ve never seen one of these. It’s a False Arrow crab, and according to one source, it’s distribution is “North Carolina through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea to Brazil.” Also noted: “Found on hard substrates, shallow water to 90 meters.”
We found it in the wet algae at water’s edge.
In the photo above, the crab is cradled in the palm of Alex’s hand on a gob of green algae. Without the algae to provide contrast, it was practically invisible.
The algae was piled high on Caspersen Beach that cool foggy spring day.
Algae washing up on Caspersen Beach provides a rich habitat for marine life, and a bountiful feast for shorebirds.
