No photo available
Brown land crab
Cardisoma carnifex
Valid name (WoRMS, AphiaID 210291, checked 2026-10-31).
- English
- Brown land crab
- Scientific
- Cardisoma carnifex
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Crabs
- Family
- Cardisomatidae
- Maximum size
- Up to about 12 cm (carapace width)
- Depth and habitat
- Shore: beaches, rocks and coastal vegetation at and above the high-tide line; adults live on land and return to the sea to release larvae
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE)
Description
The brown land crab is a large, heavy land crab with a rounded, brown to purplish shell and one claw much larger than the other. It lives in burrows in coastal scrub, gardens and the edges of wetlands, often near the water table, and comes out at dusk to feed on leaves and fallen fruit. It must return to the sea to release its larvae.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: iNaturalist research-grade observations in the Maldives (n=45, 30 observers).
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Cardisoma-carnifex.html
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=210291
- inaturalist.org /taxa/82585
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Cardisoma_carnifex.JPG
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.