''Helopgrapsus haswellianus'' or Haswell’s shore crab, is the sole species of crab in the genus ''Helograpsus''. It lives in river mouths and bays on the eastern coast of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
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South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
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Queensland
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Tasmania
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The carapace is strongly convex with one distinct notch behind the eye. Adult males have larger claws than adult females. The carapace is olive, dark slate grey or reddish. Claws of adult males are orange-yellow.
Carapace size is up to 30 mm wide. The orange color is stronger when these crabs live in habitat with lower pollution levels.
''Helograpsus haswellianus'' lives in tidal saltmarshes, and can be active at night.
It constructs burrows 30–40 cm deep above the high tide level, living at the highest shore levels of marine crabs. The burrows can be in dirty sand or mud. It can also be found under rocks. Crabs range up to 20 m from their burrows. Their burrows increase the surface area of shore sediments exposed to saltwater and help maintain the condition of tidal marshes.
''Chasmagnathus convexus'' and ''Chasmagnathus haswellianus'' are synonyms of ''Helograpsus haswellianus''.
References
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q13224181
Crabs
Monotypic decapod genera