Spiny Spooner
Etisus dentatus
- Usual depth0–1 m
- Water temperature24–29 °C
- Best monthsMay, August, and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Daniel Eisenhauer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Etisus dentatus is a species of crab that lives in the Indo-Pacific, including the Red Sea, South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles, India, the Andaman Islands, Japan, Taiwan, China, the Balabac Strait, the Torres Strait, New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti and the Hawaiian Islands.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Etisus dentatus”, 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: 7 records
- February: 6 records
- March: 9 records
- April: 9 records
- May: 15 records
- June: 9 records
- July: 10 records
- August: 15 records
- September: 10 records
- October: 6 records
- November: 11 records
- December: 5 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–1 m · Deepest record: 1 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–29 °C
Photos
(c) Gabriel, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Daniel Eisenhauer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Wang J.P., some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Lisa_James, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Eric Knight, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Spiny Spooner
Names in 3 more languages
- French
- Crabe denté
- Japanese
- アカヒヅメガニ
- Simplified Chinese
- 齒滑面蟹
Other scientific names: Cancer dentatus, Cancer poiae, Etisodes dentatus
Similar species
Smooth spoonerEtisus laevimanus
Splendid pebble crabEtisus splendidus
Sawedged Spooner CrabEtisus utilis
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).
- 83 open-data records from 1785 to 1992.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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