Beach Crabs

Ghost Crab
Ghost Crab
Ocypode quadrata
Fiddler Crab
Fiddler Crab
Uca spp

These small crabs are largely terrestrial. Female Fiddler Crabs lack the huge claw of the male, which is very strong but is used only in dance-like territorial displays. Several species in the area differ mainly by habitat. Fiddlers prefer marshes and stream banks, where huge colonies riddle the peat with tunnels near the waterline. Almost entirely terrestrial, you will find Ghost Crabs skittering across the beaches at night. Placed in the water, they may even drown! Both grow to a body size of approximately 1 inch.

Fiddler Crabs
Fiddler Crabs tend to live in nasty places. Note the odd left-handed male at upper-right.

US Fish & Wildlife Service Species Profile


Blue-Green Algae

Most blue-green algae are inconspicuous, forming slimes or velvety coverings on any available surface. Some blue-green algae, not all of which are blue-green in color, are capable of surviving in extreme conditions that kill most other forms of life. Some give off toxins that are harmful or fatal to other forms.