Atlantic Ghost Crab
Ocypode quadrata
Animalia
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- Up to 3 yrs
- Size
- Small
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Sandy beach
- Range
- Western Atlantic coast
- Movement
- Running
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Speed
- Status
- Common
About
The Atlantic ghost crab is a pale, sand-coloured crab that haunts tropical and subtropical beaches along the western Atlantic. One of the fastest crustaceans on land, it can sprint at nearly 10 mph and vanishes into burrows so quickly it seems to disappear — earning its ghostly name.
Life cycle
- 1.juvenileA juvenile crustacean takes adult form after its larval phase, growing in stages between molts.
- 2.adultFully grown at adult size and full hard shell.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Order
- Decapoda
- Family
- Ocypodidae
- Genus
- Ocypode
- Species
- Ocypode quadrata