• Norwegian: porselenskrabbe

Characteristics:

Like other porcelain crabs, it looks more like a crab than an anomuran. The shape of the carapace seems more rounded than other anomurans and the rostrum between the eyes are lacking. It can be distinguished from juvenile crabs by the fact that it has only four pairs of visible legs, including the claws. The long-clawed porcelain crab actually has a fifth pair, but the last pair is very small.

This is a tiny species, the carapace does not exceed a length of 10 mm. The color is reddish brown. One claw is significantly bigger than the other. The short tail, usually hidden under the body, contributes to the crab-like appearance.

Habitat:

You are most likely to find this on shallow water under rocks or in crevices. It seems to prefer locations with gravel and small rocks. It is not registered deeper than 100 meters.

Distribution:

The long-clawed porcelain crab is widespread in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic Ocean. It can be found from Norway in the north to West Africa and the Canaries in the south.