You've got to take a look at these pics of ghost crabs from Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina, where I visited recently. There were several of these little guys hanging around, running sideways, hole to hole, to avoid being eaten by any flying predators. Some of these ghost crabs were larger and appeared to be as big as my hand. They were really fast and it took me a long while (hours!) to get a good pic of them. Many of my other pics show only the hole as I couldn't click the camera button fast enough - LOL!!!
At first glance, the beach looks as though there are pre-dug umbrella holes spaced about 3 feet apart. When you look more closely, you begin to notice the sandy filling that was thrown around the outside of the hole like by little spoonfuls. Then you'll see the little sideways track marks connecting the holes. These little guys will poke their eyes out and if it's clear, they'll come out. A slight movement or shadow sends them back in their hole in the blink of an eye. They take on the color of the sand so if your not aware of them, you might miss them.
The corner of our beach blanket is at the lower left of this pic and shows how close these little critters really get. See the crab hole in the upper right corner?
I've heard that these ghost crabs dig as far as 4 feet into the sand and tunnel below to connect their holes. I've also heard that the only other place where similar ghost crabs live is in Jamaica. They're really an awesome sight so be on the look out for them if you happen to visit the beach in South Carolina.
I've named this one My Friend Crabby!
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2 comments:
Love those little crabs, they must have been so cute to watch!! I love wild life photography, wish I could afford a really good zoom lens for my Nikon D80, have one but not as good as I would like!!
Great pictures Rose
I am a big fan of our South Carolina ghost crabs. We have a home in Surfside and love going down to the beach after dark. They are facinating little creatures.
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