SHORE CRABS

The most beautiful of our shore crabs is the rainbow colored lined shore crab on the far left. Kelp crabs are part of a group called spider crabs due to their long limbs. Sometimes hard to see thanks to their drab green shell these guys often cover large areas of the sea bottom just off shore. Purple shore crabs are probably our most shoreline abundant species and are easily identified by their distinctive color. Unlike its little cousins the red rock crab on the right grows to a respectable dinner plate size – where it often ends up. 

Anyone who has strolled along our Northwest sea shores and turned over a rock or chunk of driftwood cannot help but notice the abundance of crabs that inhabit our shore lines. Thousands and thousands of these little crustaceans make their living from our rolling tides as they scurry about eating everything from algae to dead animals. Of the sixty or so crab species that inhabit North America our Pacific Shores are home to about twenty different kinds, just about all of which can be seen from the shore or dockside. Crabs are identified by shape, color, and the number of spines behind the eyes.