Spectacled Box Crab
Calappa philargius
- Usual depth11–35 m
- Water temperature20–29 °C
- Best monthsMay, June, and October
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) TonyT, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 9 records
- February: 15 records
- March: 9 records
- April: 22 records
- May: 26 records
- June: 39 records
- July: 22 records
- August: 19 records
- September: 15 records
- October: 35 records
- November: 14 records
- December: 13 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 11–35 m · Deepest record: 35 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C
Photos
(c) Chris Oldnall, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Kai Squires, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) TonyT, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tim Parker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Vladislav Isaev, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Bart, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) insect ID, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Spectacled Box Crab, spotted box crab
Names in 5 more languages
- Spanish
- Cangrejo Caja de Anteojos
- French
- Crabe honteux à lunettes
- Japanese
- メガネカラッパ
- Thai
- ปูฤๅษีสี่จุด
- Simplified Chinese
- 逍遙饅頭蟹
Other scientific names: Calappa cristata, Calappe cristata, Cancer inconspectus, Cancer philargius
Similar species
Smooth box crabCalappa hepatica
Japanese Box CrabCalappa japonica
Common Box CrabCalappa lophos
- 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.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 258 open-data records from 1758 to 2015.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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