Japanese Box Crab
Calappa japonica
- Usual depth76–230 m
- Water temperature20–30 °C
- Best monthsJuly
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Joelle Lai, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Calappa japonica, also known as the Japanese shame-faced crab, is a marine species of box crab in the family Calappidae. Originally found in the waters around Japan, more recently it has been found in Africa, the Red Sea and Western Australia.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Calappa japonica”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 0 records
- February: 0 records
- March: 0 records
- April: 0 records
- May: 0 records
- June: 1 records
- July: 2 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 0 records
- October: 1 records
- November: 0 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 76–230 m · Deepest record: 230 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Japanese Box Crab, Japanese Shame-faced Crab
Names in 1 more languages
- Japanese
- ヤマトカラッパ
Similar species
Smooth box crabCalappa hepatica
Common Box CrabCalappa lophos
Spectacled Box CrabCalappa philargius
- Two-horn Box Crab
Calappa bicornis
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 21 open-data records from 1892 to 1994.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
Log what you see on your next dive
The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.