Spotted Box Crab, Hepatus lineatus

Spotted Box Crab, Hepatus lineatus. Crab provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, October 2010. Size: 14 cm (5.5 inches) x 9.5 cm (3.7 inches).

General information: The Spotted Box Crab, Hepatus lineatus, is one of twenty-five members of the Aethridae Family of Box Crabs and one of the five crabs placed in the Hepatus Genus, that are in Mexico as cangrejo cajeta bolas. They are also known as is also known as the Panamic Calico Crab  and in Mexico as cajeta moteada.

Identification: The Spotted Box Crab is fairly easy to identify and is not easily confused with another species. The oval shell (carapace) is broader than it is long and smooth without teeth. The crab is a light brown and the shell and all of its appendages are covered with small yellow to orange spots. The eyes are rather close together with the shell extending out significantly between the eyes. The claws are large. They are known to decorate themselves with sea anemones of the family Sagartiidae. The Spotted Box Crabs are dimorphic with males reaching a maximum of 12.9 cm (5.1 inches) in width and the females 9.8 cm (3.8 inches).

Habitat and Range: The Spotted Box Crab is found throughout the Sea of Cortez and along the southern west coast of the Baja, south of Magdalena Bay and are found over sandy bottoms at depths from the intertidal zone to 76 meters (250 feet) preferring sand bottoms.

Diet: The Spotted Box Crab is an opportunistic scavenger with a majority of their diet being detritus, while also consuming other small invertebrates like mollusks other crustaceans and occasionally small fish and algae.

Conservation Status:  From a conservation perspective the Spotted Box Crab has not been formally evaluated. However, they are common and of limited interest to most and should be considered to be of Least Concern. This species is a frequent by-catch of deep water shrimp trawlers and normally discarded being deemed of limited value.