Cardisoma crassum
Encyclopedia
The mouthless crab, Cardisoma crassum, is a species
of terrestrial
crab
found in the coastal tropical eastern Pacific from Baja California
to Peru
. It has a purplish-blue shell, red legs and white main pincer. "Cardisoma crassum is common among mangrove
roots, where it builds its burrow. It also occasionally occurs on the driest part of the channel banks and flats".
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
found in the coastal tropical eastern Pacific from Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. It has a purplish-blue shell, red legs and white main pincer. "Cardisoma crassum is common among mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
roots, where it builds its burrow. It also occasionally occurs on the driest part of the channel banks and flats".