APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

Scroll down and rollover titles to change screen image or click on title to view image.

Strawberry crab
Eurynome aspera
- dorsal view 1

Strawberry crab
Eurynome aspera
- ventral view 1

Strawberry crab
Eurynome aspera
- dorsal view 2

Strawberry crab
Eurynome aspera
- dorsal view 3

Strawberry crab
Eurynome aspera
- tubercules carapace base 1

Strawberry crab
Eurynome aspera
- knippers / claws 1

Specimen above is a juvenile, length of carapace approx. 4.0mm. Specimen was found on washing the holdfasts of the brown algae Furbellows, which was collected sub-tidally at the entrance of Sennen Cove harbour, Cornwall, 28.10.15.

Please note, Spider crabs can be quite tricky to identify with any certainty because of a covering of algae. This means verification from images may be impossible. It may be necessary to remove some of the algae with fine tweezers in order to identify weed covered specimens using a stereomicroscope and key. It is too easy to assume specimens are the common Macropodia rostrata, when they may not be, and detailed examination is important if under-recorded species are to be found and identified.

The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help

people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.