Harlequin Swimming Crab
Lissocarcinus orbicularis
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Order
- Decapoda
- Family
- Portunidae
- Genus
- Lissocarcinus
- Species
- Lissocarcinus orbicularis
The harlequin swimming crab (Lissocarcinus orbicularis) is a small, smooth crab with a bold pattern of brown or maroon patches on a white shell. Its back legs are flattened into paddles for swimming.
It lives as a symbiont on sea cucumbers, riding on the outside of the host or sheltering near its mouth and gills. It feeds on small particles and organisms around its host.
In the Philippines it is found by checking large sea cucumbers on sand and rubble, where it often hides on the underside.