[Originally posted to the Moorea Coral Reef LTER (MCR LTER) Marine Life Encyclopedia]
Trapezia Crab or Guard Crab
(Trapezia
serenei)
![Trapezia Crab or Guard Crab - Trapezia serenei Trapezia Crab or Guard Crab - Trapezia serenei](http://mcr.lternet.edu/education/encyclopedia/images/Creature_Images/51.jpg)
Photo by Hannah Stewart. Text by G. Bergsma and H. Stewart.
Trapeziid crabs actively defend their
coral hosts from predators, and are known to drive away predatory
Crown-of-Thorns Seastars by snipping off their thorns and tube feet.
Trapezia live only on Pocillopora corals, and feed on their mucus.
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Crabs of the genus Trapezia are found throughout the Indo-Pacific. T. serenei has been reported from Western Australia, Taiwan, Guam, the Tuamotu Islands and the Society Islands. |
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Shallow tropical reefs, reef flats and lagoons where Pocillopora corals grow. |
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Coral mucus. |
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Trapeziid crabs clean sediment off their host corals, enabling small corals to survive in high-sediment areas where they would otherwise be smothered. |
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Coming Soon
- Moorea Biocode Database |
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