Bait-fishery

Guides

• Emerita analoga

  Pacific sand crab, Pacific mole crab, coldwater mole crab

  Emerita analoga is a small sand-burrowing decapod crustacean inhabiting exposed sandy beaches along temperate Pacific coasts of North and South America. The species exhibits strong sexual dimorphism, with females nearly twice the size of males. It is a suspension feeder that captures plankton using specialized antennae extended into retreating waves. The species has been widely studied as an indicator organism for coastal pollution and harmful algal blooms.

  decapodcrustaceanintertidalsuspension-feederindicator-speciessexual-dimorphismplanktonic-larvaeswash-zonePacific-coastbait-fishery