What crabs are native to Hawaii?
Kona crab, kuahonu crab, and Samoan crab are the three main crabs fished commercially in Hawaii.
Can you eat a kelp crab?
IF these are the red to dark red color with smooth shells where the carapace is the same shape as the spider crab, then yes they’re good eating. They are very sweet, but the shell is very thick. The texture is also more “stringy”, but again the meat is sweeter than any crab I’ve eaten.
Where are kelp crabs found?
The kelp crab (Pugettia producta), a spider crab found among seaweed on the Pacific coast from Canada to Mexico, is about 1.25 cm (0.5 inch) wide and 2.5 cm (1 inch) long. It is green and red on top and green underneath.
Where do Northern kelp crabs live?
It is found in the intertidal zone to a depth of 75 m. Its range stretches along the west coast of North America from southern Alaska to northern Mexico. The northern kelp crab are one of a handful of similar-looking species that fall under the names spider crab, decorator crab, and kelp crab.
Are there crabs in Hawaii beaches?
You may not have seen these crabs in person, but if you walk the beach in the morning, you’ve certainly seen their handiwork. Ghost crabs live in the intertidal zone and after the high tide recedes, they must clear their burrow of the sand the waves washed in.
What eats the kelp crab?
Northern kelp crabs are predated by a few different animals in different stages of life. Adults are frequently eaten by cabezon, gulls, sea otters and staghorn sculpins. Sea otters are significant predators for the northern kelp crab within kelp forests.
What family do kelp crabs belong to?
Pugettia producta belongs to the class Crustacea and the family Majidae, which is the spider crab family. Spider crabs are named for their spindly legs, but also known as masking crabs due to their habit of camouflaging themselves with bits of algae, sponges, bryozoans, or other material.
What types of crabs eat kelp?
Northern kelp crabs are herbivores with seasonal preferences. In the summer months when algae is prevalent, they eat nearly exclusively algae. They eat kelp, rockweed, sargassum and some types of red algae.
What sea animal eats kelp?
In the north Pacific, the sea otter is the main and only predator of kelp. On the California current, sheephead and spiny lobsters eat kelp too, along with the sea otters.
Are there ghost crabs in Hawaii?
Hawai’i has two ghost crab species, Ocypode ceratophthalmus (horn-eyed ghost crab) and Ocypode lae- vis or Ocypode pallidula (pallid ghost crab), The horn-eyed ghost crab is found all over the world whereas the pallid ghost crab is found on different islands throughout the pacific (Lighter 1977).