#spanner crab

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

The Red Frog Crab? I just found out about them today and I'm enchanted and baffled in equal measure.

Have you seen the red frog crab (Ranina ranina)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onAug 27, 2025

[daily-crabbys]

Today's crab is: compact

[kohlkopfus]

Seriously, I am kind of embarrassed to admit that I didn’t draw a thing lately. Only this spanner crab...

(also I have warframe burnout, but pssst, don’t tell anyone)

[drhoz]

#2814 - Ranina ranina - Spanner Crab

AKA as the Red Frog Crab, and Huỳnh Đế crab ('Emperor Crab'), Cancer ranina , Hippa scabra and four other species of Ranina that are now considered synonyms. They really are red in life.

A fairly-known species on the subtropical east coast of Australia, but it also has populations around the Indian Ocean, and around SE Asia.

They bury themselves on sandy seafloors down to below 100m depth, where they prey on bottom-dwelling fish, and are active at night.

Widely caught for food, and highly regarded as such. Although Ranina ranina is a target of commercial fishing, little is known about the species' biology, population dynamics or ecology, and attempts at captive breeding have been mostly unsuccesful.

Otago Museum, Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand.

[mousenoseopera]

I just love the shape! Spanner crab!

[vintagewildlife]

Spanner crab (Ranina ranina) By: Unknown photographer From: Viscount/Phillips Cigarettes 1968

[angsturban]

[daftsoul]

(Image: The Natural History Museum/Alamy)