Crabs of Changi

This morning we were at the last remaining natural rocky shore of Changi. And there were numerous crabby encounters.


James showed me this Purple-legged swimming crab (Charybdis sp.) eating a Flower crab (Portunus pelagicus). It is my first time seeing the Purple-legged swimming crab and I like this most out of the different swimming crabs.


Beneath rocks, there are some of this orange looking crab which red claws that I have no idea what it is.


Interesting, I could find several Purple climber crabs (Metopograpsus sp.) of different sizes on this shore. Beside this crab is an anemone.


This crab is probably the Mangrove tree-dwelling crab (Selatium brockii) which eats mainly algae that grows on hard surfaces.


The variety of crabs is quite diverse on a rocky shore. Other than the Stone crab (Myomenippe hardwickii) on the top left hand corner, I have no idea what are the other crabs. But I thought the reddish crab looks fascinating though it is not a Red-eyed reef crab or the Red egg crab.


It is no surprise to find many of these Tiny under-a-stone porcelain crab (Family Porcellanidae) as well underneath rocks. They usually scurry away when stones are turned over but do remember to put the rock back to their original positions after taking a look.


This is yet another unidentified crab. It's amazing to find all sorts of different crabs rather than seeing the same few species again and again.


The shore exploration could have ended off well but it was a dismay to find many dead and rotting Mud crabs (Scylla sp.) on the shore. Could this be linked to the Vesak Day animal release act? It is sad that most of these animals released will not survive simply because the habitat is probably not suitable for them.