Calcinus californiensis

Animals Kingdom (Animalia)

• Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

• Crustaceans (Subphylum Crustacea)

• Typical Crustaceans (Superclass Multicrustacea)

• Malacostracans (Class Malacostraca)

• Decapods, Isopods, and Allies (Subclass Eumalacostraca)

• Decapods and Krill (Superorder Eucarida)

• Decapods (Order Decapoda)

• Crabs, Lobsters, Shrimps, and Allies (Suborder Pleocyemata)

The Red-leg Hermit Crab (Calcinus californiensis) has bright scarlet red legs. The two claws are dark greenish-grey with red seams along each joint and around the claws. The eye stalks are also dark greenish-grey with white rims around the edge if its black eyes. The Red-leg Hermit Crabs are found in groups in the low intertidal and shallow sub-tidal zones over rock and coral structures at depths up to 20 feet from the central Sea of Cortez south to Acapulco along the coast of the Mexican mainland.