Striped Shore Crab-Pachygrapsus crassipes

A GREAT OCTOPUS FOOD SOURCE

Pachygrapsus crassipes, the striped shore crab or lined shore crab, is a small crab found on both rocky and hard-mud soft seashores of the northeastern and northwestern Pacific Ocean. In North America, this species occurs from central Oregon, south through California to near Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. 

Typically, this crab will have a brown/purple or black carapace with green stripes. Its carapace is square and can reach 4 to 5 cm in size. The claws are red/purple with a mottled and striped pattern on the upper surface, and whitish-grayish on the lower surface, while its legs are purple and green with a similar mottled appearance.

It will spend over half of its time on land. It will purposely submerge to wet its gills but can sustain itself on land for up to 3-4 days. They enjoy hiding in small crevices within rock, but will emerge at night when there is less danger of predation. This opportunistic predator's diet consists of green algae, red algae, brown seaweed, diatoms, worms, mussels, small decaying organisms, limpets, snails, flies, hermit crabs, seaweed, isopods, and sometimes even each other when the lesser crab has just finished molting.

A GREAT OCTOPUS FOOD SOURCE

SIZE .5-1.5 INCH