Decorator crab
Hyastenus elatus
- Water temperature20–29 °C
- Best monthsApril, September, and November
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) Srichakra Pranav Tamarapalli, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Hyastenus elatus is a species of crab in the family Epialtidae. It is one of several decorator crabs, habitually covering itself in aposematic sponges which may also serve as camouflage.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Hyastenus elatus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 40 records
- February: 22 records
- March: 20 records
- April: 55 records
- May: 15 records
- June: 16 records
- July: 9 records
- August: 8 records
- September: 45 records
- October: 45 records
- November: 56 records
- December: 43 records
Depth and water temperature
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Decorator crab, Sponge Decorator Crab
Names in 1 more languages
- Japanese
- ミナミツノガニ
Other scientific names: Hyastenus verreauxii
Similar species
- White-V Hydroid Spider Crab
Hyastenus borradailei
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).
- 279 open-data records from 1898 to 2005.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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