Image of Telmessus White 1846

Description:

This species has no rostrum but has four teeth between the eyes and six on the anterolateral margin of the carapace. It has many stiff setae. Photo by Dave Cowles, July 2005 This crab is able to extend its long legs farther dorsally than can most crabs, so that it can rake the hands of someone holding it across the back of the carapace. This crab is common subtidally among the algae in Sharpe's Cove of Bowman's Bay, and among the eelgrass in Padilla Bay. We rarely if ever find it in the more exposed Rosario Bay or at Sares Head.