Galathea strigosa

Annette Graves Squat lobster microscope shot (Galathea strigosa)

Annette Graves Squat lobster microscope shot (Galathea strigosa)

Raffaele Livornese galathea strigosa Nikon D90 in Hugyfot housing, Nikkor 105 VR, f/20, 1/250 sec, Iso 100, 2 x Inon Z240 Banco di S.Croce, Castellammare-Italy

Ken Thongpila Nice details Raffaele :-) Love the hairy details...

Jack de Vries very nice shot

Annette Graves Squat lobster microscope shot (Galathea strigosa)..

Annette Graves Squat lobster microscope shot (Galathea strigosa)..

Alberto Biondi Galathea strigosa, Medveja - Hrvatska

Suzan Meldonian wild looking eyes!

Raffaele Livornese Galathea strigosa Nikon D90 in Hugyfot housing, Nikkor 105, F/11, 1/250 sec. Iso 100, 2 x Inon z240

Ilse Merz wonderful, very special!

Raffaele Livornese thank you, Ilse... :))

Raffaele D'Aniello Bella Raff. :)

Raffaele Livornese Grazie Raffaele....

Raffaele Livornese Galathea strigosa Nikon D90 in Hugyfot housing, Nikkor 60mm, F/20, 1/250 sec, Iso 100, 2 x Inon Z240 Castellammare di Stabia, Italy

Giorgio Cavallaro Uwp Great!

Raffaele Livornese Thank you, Giorgio.... :-)

Annette Graves Juvenile squat lobster, taken at Millort Marine Biological Field Station, Scotland

Ron Silver Is this photo magnified? What species is this?

Annette Graves Microscope shot, species Galathea strigosa, actual size about 2cm

Ron Silver Thought so! Couldn't think of a 'monster' squat lobster.

Annette Graves He will grow up to 9cm carapace length, a bit of a beast in the squat lobster world!

Ron Silver https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=442364612509292&set=a.129277410484682.33599.129009307178159&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

Andrew Cleave Not my photograph, but I was sent this from Scilly. This small Galathea sp (?) was found in Pelistry Bay on St Mary's during one of the recent low springs.

Andy Horton Great pic ! (Y) Who found it and took it. I never seen one like this one!

Cathal McNaughton Nice one Andrew, I think it might be Galathea strigosa. I found a slightly more mature one a few years. Chesk out this link, I hope the info is reliable:-http://nature22.com/estran22/crustace/anomoures/anomoures.php#strigosa

Cathal McNaughton Heres a similar one Andrew, I think theyre G. strigosa.

Andrew Cleave Thanks Cathal.

Andy Horton Thanks for the link (Y)

Nicolas Jouault Your telling porkies Andy, you have seen a picture of one before: http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Torpedo2003Nov.htm

Andy Horton Ten Years Ago. Guilty of a poor memory. Worrying.

Nicolas Jouault Probably the most colourful thing I've ever found on the shoreline, found on the return from a very long and unproductive walk.

Andrew Cleave What was the conclusion on its identification?

Cathal McNaughton As far as I can see Andrew, going by the French webpage linked above and various observations and discussions on iSpot about Squat Lobsters, I think yours is Galathea strigosa. It seems to be by far the most colourful one, much more so that G. squamifera and G. intermedia is very small, less colourful and has a distinctive pale dorsal stripe. I think you have strigosa.

Andrew Cleave Thanks Cathal - I will have a good search for more of these if the tides allow when I get back there in October. Presumably they change colour as they moult into adult-sized specimens.

Neil Watson I saw this crab in Selsey, West Sussex off the life boat station in about 4-5m of water. It is probably 8cm across. Any help with identifying it would be great. Thanks.

Marco Faasse It is Galathea squamifera.

João Pedro Silva Looks like a Galathea sp. Not sure about which species though. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpsilva1971/6350374915/

Rob Spray I'd agree with that, it's not a crab as such - it's a squat lobster.

Neil Watson Brilliant, thanks. I have just added another pic from the same dive, is it another type of squat lobster? There was a few of them on the dive whereas the one in this picture was the only one I saw.

João Pedro Silva They're often inside crevices and holes or under rocks during the day. Occasionally they'll be out hunting in overcast days like this large Galathea strigosa: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpsilva1971/8386710567/

Neil Watson The vis was about 1.5m and it was very silty, also it was about 8:45 in the morning and the sun was not that bright. That explains why I saw loads on this dive whereas I have not clearly seen them before.

João Pedro Silva I often find them on night dives. G. strigosa has those distinct blue markings which make it easier to identify. Not sure about the other I've tentatively identified as G. squamifera but I suspect the shape of the pincers may indicate there's more than one species involved. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpsilva1971/tags/galatheasquamifera/