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Pelagic Red Crab Video Stock Footage
Pleuroncodes planipes is a bright red animal, up to 13 centimetres (5.1 in) long. It resembles a true lobster, but has a shorter abdomen. As the most abundant species of micronekton in the California Current, Pleuroncodes planipes fills an important ecological niche converting primary production into energy that larger organisms can use. P. planipes is accordingly an important food item for many species of birds, marine mammals and fish. It is favoured by tuna, leading to one of the species' common names – "tuna crab". Other fish known to feed on P. planipes include billfishes, yellowtail amberjack, sharks and Epinephelus analogus. The diets of gray whales, Bryde's whales, blue whales and sea otters all include P. planipes. The Mexican endemic bat Myotis vivesi also feeds on P. planipes at some times of the year. Off Baja California, the stomachs of some loggerhead sea turtles have been observed to contain only P. planipes. Since P. planipes may be washed ashore in large numbers, it can be a valuable addition to the diets of seabirds such as the herring gull (Larus argentuatus), whose food supply is usually diminished in El Niño years. Learn more about Pelagic Red Crab
View related species in family group: Crab
Animalia: Arthropoda: Decapoda: Malacostraca: Galatheidae: Pleuroncodes planipes