Violet crab
Eurycarcinus orientalis
- Usual depth1–1 m
- Water temperature25–29 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, April, and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Oleksii Vasyliuk, 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: 10 records
- February: 4 records
- March: 2 records
- April: 6 records
- May: 4 records
- June: 3 records
- July: 1 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 3 records
- October: 5 records
- November: 10 records
- December: 6 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–1 m · Deepest record: 1 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–29 °C
Photos
(c) Oleksii Vasyliuk, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Arabella Willing, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Violet crab
Similar species
common hairy crabPilumnus vespertilio
Bearded CrabHeteropilumnus fimbriatus
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).
- 71 open-data records from 1867 to 2020.
- Species data updated November 2, 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.