Epibiosis
Guides
Inachidae
spider crabs
Inachidae is a family of marine crabs commonly known as spider crabs, characterized by long, slender legs and often elaborate camouflage behaviors. The family contains approximately 39 genera distributed primarily in Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indo-Pacific waters. Members of this family are known for their association with sessile organisms including sea anemones, sponges, and algae. Some species exhibit specialized epibiosis, deliberately accumulating algae and other materials on their carapace for camouflage.
Trophithauma rostrata
Trophithauma rostrata is a spider crab species in the family Inachidae, formerly classified under the genus Macropodia. Molecular genetic analysis (COI barcode) demonstrated that Macropodia parva should be synonymised with T. rostrata, while M. longipes was determined to be a synonym of M. tenuirostris. The species occurs in the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions. Like other inachid crabs, it exhibits epibiosis, carrying algae and other sessile organisms on its carapace.