And the Sea

cog-nito:

You can say this is a porcelain crab! Actually behind that bad pun lies the animal’s real name, Say’s Porcelain Crab (Porcellana sayana) and these crustaceans are found from the West Indies all the way to Venezuela. They have a triangular notched beak and a strong tooth above the eye socket. A crab among rocks and clusters of oysters, they are commonly seen from low-tide line to water 290 feet deep. This little fella is sometimes commensal with large hermit crabs, which are rather messy eaters, shredding their food and dropping bits, which P. sayana then retrieves. This species may simply be opportunistic, adopting a host to find food for it.

Photo by Ryan Photographic