Red rock crab (Grapsus grapsus) Postcard

Original photo by Lieutenant Elizabeth Crapo, NOAA Corps, colours made a little more vibrant by us. The crab Grapsus grapsus is one of the most common crabs along the western coast of the Americas. It is known variously as "red rock crab", "abuete negro", and, together with other crabs such as Percnon gibbesi, as "Sally Lightfoot". It is found along the Pacific coast of Mexico, Central America, South America (as far south as northern Peru), and nearby islands. It is one of the many charismatic species that inhabit the Galápagos Islands, and is often seen in photos of the archipelago, sometimes sharing the seaside rocks with the marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus).