Arthropoda · arthropods

Atlantic mole crab

Emerita talpoida

Hippidae · mole crabsIUCN: Not evaluated
Atlantic mole crab
Photo: Alfred Goldsborough Mayor · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

An egg-shaped crab that rides the swash and digs backward into wet sand.

Fun factIts feathery antennae catch food from the backwash of each wave.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic
Depth zone
Intertidal shore
Diet
Plankton filtered from waves
Size
Up to 3.5 cm

Classification

Arthropoda › Malacostraca › Decapoda › Hippidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Protostomia protostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening usually becomes the mouth
    • Main nerve cord runs along the belly (ventral)
    • Includes mollusks, worms, and arthropods
  4. Clade Ecdysozoa molting animals
    • Grow by shedding their outer layer (molting, ecdysis)
    • No cilia used for movement
    • Includes arthropods and nematode worms
  5. Phylum Arthropoda arthropods
    • Hard outer skeleton made of chitin (exoskeleton)
    • Jointed legs and a segmented body
    • The largest animal phylum by species count
  6. Subphylum Crustacea crustaceans
    • Two pairs of antennae
    • Branched (biramous) legs in many species
    • Most breathe with gills
  7. Class Malacostraca crabs, shrimp & kin
    • Body of a head, 8-segment thorax, and 6-segment abdomen
    • Includes crabs, shrimp, lobsters, krill, and isopods
  8. Order Decapoda ten-legged crustaceans
    • Ten walking legs, the first pair often with claws
    • Shell covers head and thorax together (carapace)
  9. Suborder Pleocyemata egg-brooding decapods
    • Females carry their eggs under the abdomen until they hatch
    • Includes true crabs, lobsters, and most shrimp
  10. Infraorder Anomura hermit & king crabs
    • Last pair of walking legs is small and often hidden
    • Includes hermit crabs, king crabs, and mole crabs
  11. Family Hippidae mole crabs
    • Mole crabs: egg-shaped bodies
    • Dig backward into wet sand and filter food with feathery antennae
  12. Genus Emerita
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  13. Species Emerita talpoida Atlantic mole crab

Closest relatives in the guide