Spider crabs – MAJIDAE

Spider crab - rapid bay jetty - steve reynolds 2013

At least 13 species of spider crabs have been recorded in South Australian waters, according to the Atlas of Living Australia. This list is provisional, owing to the absence of records from the South Australian Museum from the ALA’s database.

Sightings of the most common species can be found in this iNaturalist project.

Genus Species Common name Described
Leptomithrax gaimardii Great Spider Crab 1834, H. Milne Edwards
Leptomithrax sternocostulatus Ribbed Spider crab 1851, H. Milne Edwards
Leptomithrax waitei 1900, Whitelegge
Microhalimus deflexifrons Decorator crab 1880, Haswell
Naxia aries Ramshorn crab 1834, Guérin-Méneville
Naxia aurita Smooth seaweed-crab 1825, Latreille
Naxia tumida Little seaweed crab 1852, Dana
Notomithrax minor Small seaweed crab 1885, Filhol
Notomithrax ursus Bear seaweed crab 1788, Herbst
Paramithrax barbicornis Sea Toad 1825, Latreille
Pippacirama tuberculosa 1834, H. Milne Edwards
Prismatopus spatulifer 1881, Haswell
Schizophrys rufescens 1986, Griffin & Tranter

Revision log:

  • 27 April 2015 – Dan Monceaux
  • 19 June 2019 – Dan Monceaux (added link to new iNaturalist project)
2 thought on “Spider crabs – MAJIDAE”
  1. Hello we caught a spider crab today off the Wallaroo Jetty which was a surprise. Looking forward to eating it tomorrow. Kind regards Tracey

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