Crustaceans (subphylum Crustacea, phylum Arthropoda)
Crayfish (suborder Dendrobranchiata, order Decapoda, superorder Eucarida, subclass Eumalacostraca, class Malacostraca)
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| Stream crayfish, Durham, 5/13/05. This inch-long crayfish appeared in a stream in my neighborhood exiting from a drainage ditch. Note that it's pushed its tail into the sand so it's not quite visible. The long antennae have been cropped. | Pond crayfish, Durham, 7/2/05. This crayfish was lying at the bottom of a drainage ditch, so it took some image enhancement to bring out the details. It appeared to be several inches long. | This small crayfish (about an inch long), a water strider, veliid bugs and other miscellaneous arthropods appeared in a small puddle, about one foot long, left behind when a drainage ditch dried up during what appears to be yet another drought here. Durham, NC, 8/11/08 | This half-inch long crayfish appeared in a puddle left over from a dried-up drainage ditch. This image has been enhanced. Durham, 10/3/05. | Crayfish, after skirmish with turtle. Durham, NC, 4/27/11 | Drainage ditch crayfish, Durham, 5/28/06 |
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| Crayfish holes, Durham, 3/26/07. These were located on both sides of a stream leading to the drainage ditch in which the above crayfish were found. Crayfish created these after a long dry spell this spring. | ||
True Crabs (infraorder Brachyura, suborder Pleocyemata, order Decapoda, superorder Eucarida, subclass Eumalacostraca, class Malacostraca)
Ghost Crabs (Ocypode quadrata, family Ocypodidae, superfamily Ocypodidoidea)
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| Young Ghost Crab. Great camouflage! When I first spotted it on an Ocracoke beach on 5/16/05, I thought it was covered with sand. Thanks to Garrett Herth for ID. | Young Ghost Crab, Ft. Fisher, New Hanover County, NC, 10/20/05. Possibly another juvenile. | Ghost Crab, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/26/18 | Ghost Crab, Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach, Carteret County, NC, 8/25/16. This crab traveled from the beach to the Visitor Center area. | Ghost Crab, Ocracoke, 5/11/06 |
Sand Fiddler Crabs (Uca pugliator, family Ocypodidae, superfamily Ocypodidoidea)
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| Male Sand Fiddler Crab, Ft. Fisher State Recreation Area, New Hanover County, NC, 12/26/15 | Male Sand Fiddler Crab having a conflict with another whose hole he wants, Ft. Fisher State Recreation Area, New Hanover County, NC, 12/19/17 | Same two Sand Fiddler Crabs, Ft. Fisher State Recreation Area, New Hanover County, NC, 12/19/17 | Male Sand Fiddler Crab, Ft. Fisher State Recreation Area, New Hanover County, NC, 9/26/17 | Another male Sand Fiddler Crab, Ft. Fisher State Recreation Area, New Hanover County, NC, 9/26/17 | Male Sand Fiddler, Hoop Pole Creek, Atlantic Beach, Carteret County, NC, 5/21/12 | Sand Fiddler Crab, Ft. Fisher State Recreation Area, New Hanover County, NC, 4/2/14 | Male Sand Fiddler Crab (Uca pugilator), Ft. Fisher Basin Trail, New Hanover County, NC, 10/15/09 | Sand Fiddler crabs, Theodore Roosevelt Natural Area, Pine Knoll Shores, NC, 7/23/08. |
Brackish-water Fiddler Crabs (Uca minax, family Ocypodidae, superfamily Ocypodidoidea)
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| Male Brackish-water Fiddler Crab, Ocracoke Island (north shore), Hyde County, NC, 5/24/17 | Male Brackish-water Fiddler, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 5/11/06. Only Ocracoke fiddler crabs are this bold; their mainland counterparts dive into the nearest hole at the first sign of human presence. | Male Brackish-water Fiddler Crab, Carolina Beach State Park, New Hanover County, NC, 8/7/18 | Female Brackish-water Fiddler Crab (Uca minax), Ft. Fisher Basin Trail, New Hanover County, NC, 8/29/12 | Brackish-water Fiddler Crabs on the Bogue Sound side of Atlantic Beach, NC, 3/22/05. |
Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus, superfamily Portunoidea)
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| Blue Crab, in a drainage ditch in Diamondhead, Hancock County, MS, on 10/17/10 |
Wharf Crabs (Sesarma cinereum, superfamily Grapsoidea)
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| Tiny Wharf Crab, Ft. Fisher Basin Trail, near Cape Fear River, New Hanover County, NC, 10/20/14 | Wharf Crab, Ft. Fisher (Battery Buchanan Tour Stop), New Hanover County, NC, 5/23/11 | Another Wharf Crab at Ft. Fisher (Battery Buchanan Tour Stop), New Hanover County, NC, 5/23/11 | Wharf Crab, Ocracoke, Hyde County, NC, 6/13/02. Probably female. | Wharf crab, Fort Fisher Recreational Area, New Hanover County, NC, 9/28/10 |
Hermit Crabs (Paguridae family, Paguroidea superfamily, Anomura infraorder, Pleocyemata suborder, Decapoda order, superorder Eucarida, subclass Eumalacostraca, class Malacostraca)
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| Hermit crab, Gulfport, Harrison County, MS, 10/20/19 | Hermit crab, Gulfport, Harrison County, MS, 10/15/15 | Hermit crab, Gulfport, Harrison County, MS, 10/17/13 | Land hermit crab, near Loíza, Puerto Rico, 1/10/05. I saw this small animal on land, in a karst forest near the beach. It might be a Diogenidae family member. |
Sand Fleas (family Talitridae, order Amphipoda, superorder Peracarida, subclass Eumalacostraca, class Malacostraca)
Sand fleas look like small shrimp except for the placement of their unusual legs and move very much the way springtails do, taking rapid leaps several times their lengths, until they (very quickly) find cover. In fact, springtails are found in the same places, moving in a similar manner. Adult beach fleas are about 20 mm long. Taxonomic info from Woods Hole Marine Lab Beach Flea Page.
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| Sand Flea (maybe Orchestia genus), Snow's Cut Park, New Hanover County, NC, 3/8/09. This little critter was hopping all over the Cape Fear River shore and was just about to hide under a log when I took this photo. |
Pillbugs (order Isopoda, superorder Pericarida, subclass Eumalacostraca, class Malacostraca)
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| Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare, Armadilliidae family), Durham, NC, 3/9/11 | Pillbugs, Durham, NC, 5/14/11 | Common Pillbug, Duke Forest, Korstian Division, Orange County, NC, 6/11/06. |
Rock Slaters (Ligia genus, Ligiidae family, Ligiamorpha infraorder, Oniscidea suborder, Isopoda order)
These crustaceans live among rocks on beaches, living on dead organic matter and algae.
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| Rock Slater (Ligia exotica), a kind of crustacean. This one had wandered just off the sand. Ft. Fisher Recreational Area, New Hanover County, NC, 3/10/10 | Another view of the same rock slater showing the characteristic forked rear appendages, i.e., the uropod, exopods and endopods before I put it on the beach where it belonged. Ft. Fisher Recreational Area, New Hanover County, NC, 3/10/10 |
REFERENCE
Fox, R. (2001) Ligia exotica, Invertebrate Anatomy Online. Retrieved January 9, 2011 from https://webs.lander.edu/rsfox/invertebrates/ligia.html
Barnacles (class Maxillopoda, infraclass Cirripedia)
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| Pelagic Goose Barnacles (Lepas anserifera, family Lepadidae, suborder Lepadomorpha, order Pedunculata, superorder Thoracica), found on a piece of driftwood at Ft. Fisher beach, New Hanover County, NC, on 10/20/05. These are pelagic barnacles most often seen when they're washed up on beaches. Genus name provided by Garrett Herth. |