The mangrove crab, Goniopsis cruentata, lives on – and around – the mangrove swamp.
These creatures’ high tolerance of a variety of environmental conditions enables them to infiltrate all the microhabitats such as mud banks, marshes, roots, and trunks of the trees.
Typically dark-brown with reddish appendages, mangrove crabs are very common, but difficult to see, because they are fast and sneaky. Most only live about two years and grow to around six centimeters in length. They range from Florida to Brazil in the western Atlantic and Senegal to Angola in the east.
Described as solitary and belligerent, they are always busy, day or night, either eating the mangroves or a variety of prey, including smaller crabs. They play a vital role in the mangrove ecosystem function by affecting the rate of decomposition of the leaves they feed on, which is directly linked to nutrient cycling.
Tom Byrnes is the owner/operator of Cayman Marine Lab. He acquired his Coast Guard Captain’s Licence when he was a teenager and worked as a commercial fisherman in his youth. He got his first diving certificate in 1974 with the YMCA. He has worked in the local dive industry for more than 35 years and has a PhD in marine biology.
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