Photo: Toby · Image source ·CC BYAnimal profile · Crustaceans · Porcelain crab
Flat porcelain crab
Petrolisthes cinctipes
The flat porcelain crab is a small, flattened crab of Pacific rocky shores. Despite its crab-like appearance, it filters food with feathery mouthparts rather than its claws.
Not a fish · an aquatic neighborWater
Saltwater
Upper and middle intertidal rocks, mussel beds, and crevices.
Temperature
Range not established
A dependable species-specific wild temperature range was not established from the reviewed sources, so both values are null.
Size
Up to about 2.4 cm (0.9 in) across
About the size of a large bean
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 wedges itself beneath rocks and among mussels in the intertidal zone. Its flattened shape helps it withstand waves and fit into narrow shelter.
02 · Home coordinates
Where does it live?
Eastern Pacific from British Columbia to Mexico.
Regions: Northeast Pacific · British Columbia to Mexico
03 · The menu
What does it eat?
It uses feathery maxillipeds to filter particles from water rather than feeding with its claws.
Suspension feeder: phytoplankton, detritus, suspended particles.
04 · Remember this
Two wow facts
Not a claw feeder
Its claws are not its main feeding tools; feathery mouthparts collect suspended food.
Sources [2]
Wave-zone specialist
It is abundant in upper and middle intertidal habitats where waves repeatedly disturb the shore.
Sources [3]