Estuarine crab
Hemigrapsus crenulatus
- Usual depth0–1 m
- Water temperature12–17 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, November, and December
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Jon Sullivan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Hemigrapsus crenulatus, the hairy-handed crab or papaka huruhuru, is a marine crab of the family Varunidae, endemic to the New Zealand coast, although a taxon in Chile may be conspecific. It is an intertidal species with semi-terrestrial tendencies. They are named by their characteristic setae, or patches of thick hair, on the chelipeds and legs. They can range from green to brown in coloration. Adult crabs are generally 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) wide at the carapace, although the smallest mature crabs can be around just 1 cm (0.4 in) wide. and are able to survive and reproduce in environments of widely varying salinities.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Hemigrapsus crenulatus”, 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: 148 records
- February: 124 records
- March: 140 records
- April: 124 records
- May: 93 records
- June: 51 records
- July: 43 records
- August: 54 records
- September: 105 records
- October: 141 records
- November: 165 records
- December: 182 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–1 m · Deepest record: 15 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 12–17 °C
Photos
(c) Kelvin Perrie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Roderic Page, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Shaun Lee, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) naturewatchwidow, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Matt Berger, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Jenny Saito, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Saryu Mae 前 朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Estuarine crab, Hairy-handed Crab
Names in 1 more languages
- Spanish
- Huillancha, Jaiba pancora
Other scientific names: Cyclograpsus crenulatus, Heterograpsus barbigerus, Heterograpsus barbimanus, Heterograpsus crenulatus, Heterograpsus sanguineus, Trichodactylus granarius, Trichodactylus granulatus
Similar species
Asian shore crabHemigrapsus sanguineus
Common Japanese intertidal crabHemigrapsus penicillatus
Common Rock CrabHemigrapsus sexdentatus
Asian brush crabHemigrapsus takanoi
Tunneling Mud CrabAustrohelice crassa
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).
- 480 open-data records from 1926 to 2015.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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