Saltwater
Pom-pom crab
Lybia tessellata
Xanthidae
Facts
Characteristics
- Length
- Up to 2.5 cm
Water values
Range
Seen here
Seen in the wild in American Samoa, Australia, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, and 11 more countries.
More about the species
Description
Lybia tessellata is a species of small crab in the family Xanthidae. It is found in shallow parts of the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean. They are found from the east coast of Africa in the Red Sea across Northern Japan and Northern and Eastern Hawaii. Like other members of the genus Lybia, it is commonly known as the pom-pom crab, cheerleader crab, or boxer crab because of its habit of carrying a sea anemone around in each of its claws, these resembling pom-poms or boxing gloves.
Other names
In other languages
- Lybia tesselata
