Atlantic marsh fiddler crab

Minuca pugnax

The Atlantic marsh fiddler crab lives in muddy salt marshes along the western Atlantic. Males wave one oversized claw while females have two small claws.

Not a fish · an aquatic neighbor

Water

Saltwater + Brackish

Salt marsh mud, sandy shorelines, and Spartina grass flats.

Temperature

Range not established

A dependable species-specific wild temperature range was not established from the reviewed sources, so both values are null.

Size

Carapace up to about 2.5 cm (1 in) wide

About the size of a large coin

Lifespan

Best-supported wild lifespan is not established.

Life expectancy varies with place, conditions, and what scientists have been able to observe.

01 · Signature adaptation

What does it do?

It digs burrows in marsh mud and emerges with the tides. Males wave their enlarged claw to attract mates and defend small territories.

Its superpowerIts oversized male claw acts as a courtship signal and a territorial tool.

02 · Home coordinates

Where does it live?

Atlantic coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and New England south to Florida.

Regions: Western Atlantic · Atlantic coast of North America

03 · The menu

What does it eat?

It scoops sediment with its small claw and filters edible particles into its mouth.

Deposit feeder: algae, detritus, microbes, sediment organic matter.

04 · Remember this

Two wow facts

Fiddling signal

The male’s oversized claw is used in waving displays that attract females.

Sources [1]

Marsh engineer

Its burrows move sediment and help create small channels in salt-marsh habitat.

Sources [2]