Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Hapalocarcinus marsupialis Stimpson, 1859

cangrejo de coral, Coral gall crab

Caparace width to 6 mm in female, to 2 mm in male.

Origin and Affin. Western Pacific. Live between Pocillopora.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Malacostraca

Order
Decapoda

Suborder
Pleocyemata

Superfamily
Cryptochiroidea

Family
Cryptochiridae

Genus
Hapalocarcinus

Species
marsupialis

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Native

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Indico and Pacific Ocean; west cost of America Central and South, Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)

References

  • Hickman, C.P. Jr. Zimmerman, T.L. (2000) A Field Guide to Crustaceans of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 156 pp.
  • Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
  • Garth, J.S. (1991) Taxonomy, Distribution, and Ecology of Galápagos. Brachyura. In: James, M.J. (ed.): Galápagos Marine Invertebrates. Taxonomy, Biogeography, and Evolution in Darwin's Islands. Plenum Press. New York and London, p. 123-155.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Hapalocarcinus marsupialis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=8542. Accessed 7 July 2025.