Name: Sheep Crab
Information: Also known as spider crabs, this species is seen often throughout southern California where it is considered abundant. Large and slow moving, a sheep crab crawls along on long legs, which are segmented by big, knobby joints. Male sheep crabs spend the winter in deep water. In early spring, both sexes migrate to shallow water and mate. To camouflage themselves, juvenile sheep crabs decorate their carapaces with barnacles, hydroids and algae. Adult crabs often stop decorating themselves, and a thin film of fuzzy green algae replaces the masking organisms. Like all crustaceans, sheep crabs molt, or shed, their old, too-small shell. They grow a soft shell under the old carapace, back out of it, and then take in water to expand the new soft shell. In a short time the shell hardens, and the crab has room to grow. NOAA Sanctuaries