Texas Gulf Coast Fishing

Fiddler Crab

Description: The fiddler crab's carapace (shell) length is 1 to 2 inches. It is dark during the day; turning a lighter color at night. Males have one large claw and one small claw. Females' claws are the same size. Fiddler crabs move sideways rather than forward or backward. Fiddler Crabs feed on algae, bacteria, fungus scraped off of sand particles, and detritus (dead and decaying plant and animal matter). Predators that feed on fiddler crabs include herons, egrets and raccoons.
Habitat: Fiddler crabs are most often found in soft sand or mud near or around the edges of shallow salt marshes. The burrows provide privacy for mating, sleeping and "hibernating" during the winter months. Fiddlers also burrow into the sand to escape from predators and abandon their temporary burrow once the danger has passed. During high tide, fiddler crabs pack sand into the entrance to their burrows and wait until the tides goes down again. Sand or mud pellets "sprinkled" around the opening of a crab burrow means that a crab lives there.
Distribution: Fiddler crabs can be found from the Gulf of Mexico to South America.
Remarks: Fiddler crabs are the most common crab in a salt marsh and they play an important role in the salt marsh community. They eat detritus (dead or decomposing plant and animal matter) and are themselves food for a number of wetland animals. In Spanish, the fiddler crab is called a cangrejo violinista, which literally translates to "violinist crab". Fiddler crabs help preserve our important coastal wetland ecosystems. By burrowing deep into the mud of the marshes, the crabs create a maze of tunnels that aerate (add oxygen to) the marsh grasses and underwater seagrass meadows.