No photo available
Killer crab
Zosimus aeneus
Valid name (WoRMS, AphiaID 209076, checked 2026-10-31).
- English
- Killer crab
- Scientific
- Zosimus aeneus
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Crabs
- Maximum size
- Up to about 10 cm (carapace length)
- Depth and habitat
- Reef-associated, recorded from 0 to 10 m
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE)
Description
The killer crab has a lumpy shell patterned in red, brown and cream. Its flesh is highly poisonous to eat, as it accumulates paralysing toxins. It lives on reef flats and shallow reefs.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: museum specimens (n=1); iNaturalist research-grade observations in the Maldives (n=8, 5 observers).
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Zosimus-aeneus.html
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=209076
- inaturalist.org /taxa/469187
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Atauro_crab.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.