Marble crab
Metasesarma obesum
- Water temperature28–30 °C
- Best monthsJune, July, and August
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Abu Hamas, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Abu Hamas · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
Metasesarma obesum, also known as the marble crab or marble Batik crab, is a species of sesarmid crab. It is a semiterrestrial and brackish-water crab that lives on sandy beaches.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Metasesarma obesum”, 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: 30 records
- February: 9 records
- March: 20 records
- April: 30 records
- May: 29 records
- June: 43 records
- July: 53 records
- August: 44 records
- September: 31 records
- October: 33 records
- November: 35 records
- December: 23 records
Depth and water temperature
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 28–30 °C
Photos
(c) Thomas Gyselinck, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Daniel Eisenhauer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Abu Hamas, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Gabriel, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Davis Damaledo, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Edmundas Greimas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Marble crab, marble crab, Mottled Crab
Names in 4 more languages
- German
- Marmorkrabbe
- Japanese
- イワトビベンケイガニ
- Thai
- ปูแสมหาดปะการัง
- Simplified Chinese
- 肥胖後相蟹
Other scientific names: Holometopus obesus, Metasesarma granularis, Metasesarma rousseauxi, Metasesarma rugulosa, Sesarma obesum, Sesarma rousseauxi
Similar species
Red-clawed crabChiromantes haematocheir
Violet Tree-climbing CrabEpisesarma versicolor
Thai Vinegar CrabEpisesarma mederi
Red Inca CrabFasciarma fasciatum
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).
- 113 open-data records from 1853 to 2012.
- Species data updated November 4, 2026.
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