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Category: Crustaceans

Intertidal Invasion

Intertidal Invasion

These days, with globalization driving long-distance dispersal of species ranging from fungi to insects to plants, the term “invasive species” gets used a lot. To me, there is a difference between “non-native” and “invasive”. Although both terms refer to an organism that was not found here prior to colonialism, the term “invasive” is typically reserved for organisms that have not only established outside their native range, but have thrived and spread to the point of being a nuisance and can…

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Atlantic Rock Crab (Cancer irrotatus)

Atlantic Rock Crab (Cancer irrotatus)

Although the beach season is over for many folks, I feel exactly the opposite. I tend to avoid the crowds in the summer, and explore beaches during the colder weather months when they’re mostly empty. The parking is free, the birding is great, and beachcombing is absolutely a year-round activity. On a recent walk along Scusset Beach in Sandwich, I came across many crab shells washed up on the beach, the most numerous of which were the shells of the…

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Common spider crab (Libinia emarginata)

Common spider crab (Libinia emarginata)

While working in Pleasant Bay in Chatham last week, I saw numerous pairs of common spider crabs (Libinia emarginata) in the shallow water. Spider crabs have quite a different look from other local crabs. Their carapace is rounder with a distinctive beaklike protrusion. Their eight walking legs and two claws are long and narrow giving them a very spider-like appearance. This species is also called “nine-spined spider crab” due to the nine spines, or bumps, running down the center of…

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Mole crabs (Emerita talpoida)

Mole crabs (Emerita talpoida)

Until this weekend, I hadn’t seen mole crabs (Emerita talpoida) since I was a child. The lack of sightings was less to do with an absence of the crabs and more to do with the fact that I no longer dig holes and build sandcastles at the beach. My boyfriend and I were discussing these interesting little crabs as we walked down the beach yesterday and he wanted to see one. My suggestion: dig a hole in the wet sand….

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Cape Cod Vernal Pools

Cape Cod Vernal Pools

Saturday, on a near 50-degree sunny morning, I joined a guided walk led by MassAudubon to explore the vernal pools at Ashumet Holly in Falmouth.  A vernal pool is a unique temporary wetland that fills with water in the autumn or winter due to rainfall, snow melt and rising groundwater and remains ponded through the spring and sometimes into early summer.  What makes vernal pools different from an ordinary pond is that vernal pools dry completely by the middle or…

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Mantis shrimp (Squilla empusa)

Mantis shrimp (Squilla empusa)

Beachcombing often yields glimpses into ocean life, but rarely gives you the full picture. A washed up moon snail shell fails to show you the incredible span on the snail’s body when it’s alive. A gull feather is not only a poor substitute for the whole bird, but it is often difficult or impossible to decipher the species of gull from which it came. Similarly, finding the shell of a mantis shrimp’s tail hardly does justice to the living creature,…

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