Often very hard to spot, due to its habit of covering itself with seaweed, a walking clump of seaweed is a clue that there might be a crab here! The hairy seaweed crab has long brown hairs covering its carapace and upper legs, and its claws are orange with white fingers.

This crab tends to be nocturnal and avoids bright lights. It's usually found in low tidal zone rock pools or the shallow subtidal zone, amongst seaweeds. It can often be found in quite large groups.

This crab prefers to feed on seaweeds, particularly branching species, but will also hunt for small animals such as snails.

Photo Credit: Rod Morris. Photos can be purchased from https://www.rodmorris.co.nz/