Discoplax hirtipes
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| Discoplax hirtipes | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Discoplax hirtipes (Dana, 1851) |
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Cardiosoma hirtipes Dana, 1851 |
Discoplax hirtipes is a terrestrial crab native to the Southwest Japanese Islands, Taiwan, Micronesia, Southeast Asia, Hawaii, the South Pacific Ocean, Australia and the Indian Ocean. They have a purplish carapace with pink pincers and legs. They migrate during spawning season, however their numbers are not as large as the red crabs.
D. hirtipes is rarely sighted, but can be found underneath tree roots. It has stronger and larger pincers than Christmas Island red crabs which they do not hesitate to use both in self-defence and hunting for food. Like the Christmas Island red crabs, they eat plants as well as other animals.
D. hirtipes eats leaves, plants and even the Christmas Island red crab. They mostly live under tree roots as well as burrows. They also migrate each year to reproduce but they not in such great numbers as the red crabs do. They are large enough to be eaten by humans. Over-harvesting these crabs over the years has made them endangered[citation needed].
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