Mottled lightfoot crab
Grapsus albolineatus
- Usual depth0–2 m
- Water temperature23–30 °C
- Best monthsApril, May, and July
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Abu Hamas, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Grapsus albolineatus, also called the mottled crab or mottled lightfoot crab, is a species of decapod crustacean in the family Grapsidae, native to the Indo-Pacific.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Grapsus albolineatus”, 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: 350 records
- February: 335 records
- March: 361 records
- April: 498 records
- May: 479 records
- June: 354 records
- July: 491 records
- August: 437 records
- September: 472 records
- October: 452 records
- November: 391 records
- December: 348 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–2 m · Deepest record: 1.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C
Photos
(c) Cheongweei Gan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Parth Kansara, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Jonathan Curley, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Min-Hsuan NI, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Eddie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) insect ID, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Kai Squires, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Mottled lightfoot crab, Swift-footed crab, mottled lightfoot crab, swift-footed crab
Names in 2 more languages
- German
- Schnelle Felsenkrabbe
- Japanese
- ミナミイワガニ
Other scientific names: Cancer strigosus, Goniopsis flavipes, Grapse albolineatus, Grapse albo-lineatus, Grapsus longipes, Grapsus peroni, Grapsus strigosus
Similar species
Cliff crabGrapsus grapsus
Natal lightfoot crabGrapsus tenuicrustatus
Purple Rock CrabLeptograpsus variegatus
Striped shore crabPachygrapsus crassipes
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).
- 888 open-data records from 1799 to 2023.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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