Red Rock Crab or Zayapa (Grapsus grapsus)

Greetings everyone! I'm Christopher, and I'm a Marine Science specialist and a photographer. This is my first post in this community and I want to present this beautiful photos this photogenic crab.

Taxonomy

Kingdom: animalia

Phylum: arthropods

Subphylum: Crustaceans

Class: malacostraca

order: decapod

Suborder: Pleocyemata

Underorder: brachyura

Super family: Grapsoid

Family: Grapsidae

Gender: Grapsus

Species: G.grapsus Linnaeus, 1758

The red rock crab or zayapa (Grapsus grapsus) is a species of decapod crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, typical of the American Pacific coasts.

It is one of the most common crabs of the Pacific coast and the islands of South America. It can also be found on the Pacific coasts of Central America and Mexico. It is one of the characteristic species of the Galapagos Islands, where it is known by the name of zayapa and is very abundant and easy to observe next to the marine iguanas. The young are black, but the adults have a characteristic brown or reddish color, which tends to blue on the underside. It feeds on algae and small remains of animals, which it obtained by following the course of the tides.

All the photos captured by me with my Panasonic DMC-FZ28.

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If you like to se more of my photos check out my IG Christopher.gls

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