Haig’s Porcelain Crab
Porcellanella haigae

Sometimes you have to dive for macro in a current. It’s tricky to film, but sometimes it’s worth it..

I found this lovely little Sea Pen on a dive and was delighted to see that there were two small Painted Procelain Crabs on it. When we usually see these rare small crabs they are usally trying to hide…

..but due to the nice current I was in, they were feeding, extending their adapted feeder legs with the fan-like appendages, to catch the passing particles in the water.

What made these two crabs even more special to see was that they were mirro-symetrical twins. Porcelain Crabs are name ‘Porcelain’ as they are very brittle and will drop legs if attacked…both of these crabs had lost a pincer… one the left and one the right..together they made a complete crab…