Seaweed decorator crab
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| Naxia tumida (Dana, 1852) |
The seaweed decorator crab, Naxia tumida, is a small crab of the family Majidae (with a carapace up to 1.6 inches (4 cm) in diameter) that is common in rocky intertidal and subtidal areas on the temperate coasts of Australia, including parts of South Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland. It is usually found covered in seaweed that acts as camouflage, attached to the hooks on its shell. It attaches the algae or seaweed with a secretion that becomes adhesive when hardened. This habit gives the seaweed decorator crab its common name.
Other species in the Majidae family are also sometimes called "decorator crabs". Some of these species use sponges or sea anemones instead of seaweed.
The seaweed decorator crab was discovered by the United States Exploring Expedition and described by James Dwight Dana. The syntypes appear to have been lost.
