North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

So a friend of my uploaded this picture to facebook asking for people to ID the crab in question. looks like the ones they catch in deadliest catch. Was picked up by hand on a shallow reef off Melville island. Having crocodiles and large sharks should be more interesting that big swell and cold water?

It's a spider crab or decorator crab is the other name. nothing like the King crabs. They are full of salt and no good for eating. best left alone on the reef.

Picked up one of them in Apsley strait a couple of years ago.Had us all stumped what it was too

As Cuddles said Spider crab.

One night a few years back, I caught three similar looking crabs chassing Muddies up Elizebeth River, Had never seen one before so just threw them back, and have never seen one since.