Caribbean Red Stone Crab – Belize

Red Stone Crab are most commonly found in coastal areas of Baja, California, from Mexico to Peru, Ecuador, the Caribbean, Brazil, Florida, and the Galapagos Islands.

Red rock crabs are vividly multi-coloured. Adults are typically bright yellow and red with black stripes around the edges of their carapaces and black or green dots near their eyes. Leg joints are often black or a dark green colour,  each leg ending in a bright orange or yellow tip, and claws are typically bright red. Their underbellies are usually pale white.  Carapaces range in size from 5-8 cm in width. They have four large segmented walking legs with spine-like projections near the tip of each leg, and two arms with pincers. They have two eyes on short stalks at the fronts of their bodies. They rely on their thick carapaces for defence.

These crabs have many predators including a variety of birds, octopuses, eels, fishes, and cats. They try to avoid predation by moving quickly and hiding in rock crevices during daytime hours as this one did. When cornered, they will shoot a stream of water to scare a predator away, pinch with their claws, or drop a leg in order to escape!