Shiny Bait Crab
Davusia glabra
- Usual depth0.5 m
- Water temperature16–29 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, April, and December
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Niki Hubbard, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Davusia glabra, commonly called the shiny bait crab, Sowrie crab or Sourie crab is the sole species of crab in the genus Davusia. It lives around the low tide area on rocky ocean shores on the eastern coast of Australia, in crevices and rock pools and on rock platforms. Its distribution is stated differently in different sources; some have described the crab's habitat as from Queensland to as far south as the NSW-Victorian border, while others have stated it can be found as far south as Wilsons Promontory. Its carapace is grey to fawn-colored with very small green spots, resulting in Davusia glabra having a greenish appearance. The width of the carapace is around 30-40 mm across and is smooth without hair, slightly wider than long, with 3 distinct spines at each edge.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Davusia”, 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: 46 records
- February: 40 records
- March: 41 records
- April: 43 records
- May: 32 records
- June: 37 records
- July: 26 records
- August: 14 records
- September: 34 records
- October: 30 records
- November: 30 records
- December: 42 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0.5 m · Deepest record: 0.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 16–29 °C
Photos
(c) James K. Douch, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) James K. Douch, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) bughntr, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) ttsquid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) bughntr, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Shiny Bait Crab, Sowrie Crab
Other scientific names: Plagusia glabra
Similar species
Cape Rock CrabGuinusia chabrus
Cleft-fronted Bait CrabGuinusia dentipes
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).
- 113 open-data records from 1921 to 2005.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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