Rock Crab
Scientific name: Ozius truncatus
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The Rock Crab (Ozius truncatus) has a chunky, solid body that can vary from white to red-brown at different stages of its life. Its has distinctive massive claws.
Image: Tony Iwane
CC-BY 4.0
CC-BY 4.0
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Ozius
- Species
- truncatus
- Subfamily
- Oziinae
- Family
- Eriphiidae
- Suborder
- Pleocyemata
- Infraorder
- Brachyura
- Order
- Decapoda
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Subphylum
- Crustacea
- Phylum
- Arthopoda
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- 6 cm
The Rock Crab is a common Sydney species found under rocks around the low-tide mark.
The Rock Crab (Ozius truncatus) has a chunky, solid body that can vary from white to red-brown throughout different stages of its life. It has massive brown-black claws with lighter tips.
Image: mochasquirrel
CC-BY-NC 4.0
CC-BY-NC 4.0
Identification
The Rock Crab has a chunky, solid body that can vary from white to red-brown throughout different stages of its life. Its most distinctive feature is the massive claws that are always brown-black with lighter tips. These strong claws are used to feed on a variety of prey, including snails and limpets.
Habitat
Rock Crabs live on intertidal rocky shores.
Distribution
Rock Crabs are found in Southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania to Perth in Western Australia.
This map shows species occurrence observations from data recorded in the Atlas of Living Australia.
Feeding and diet
Rock Crabs feed on a variety of prey, including snails and limpets.
