Ghost Crabs of Assateague

What are ghost crabs? They are small 2-3 inched sized crabs that live in nickel sized to half dollar sized holes in the sand. The entrance to their abode is between the high tide level and the low tide level. They have long legs and their eyes are sitting on the ends of stalks.

Although they spend most of the day under the sand and are known to come out at night, I found these in the early morning hours and late afternoon.

I think these are all Atlantic Ghost Crabs. They have a square shaped body that can change colours to match their surroundings. This helps them camouflage from their predators which include: seagulls, raccoons, and other shorebirds.

Atlantic Ghost Crabs are omnivorous. They eat, bugs, clams, eggs and hatchlings of loggerhead turtles, and plants. The only thing I caught them eating were grass like plants on the beach.

I saw many of these crabs along the Assateague Island State Park beach. One activity people do is bring a flashlight at night to the beach to find them. As you can see though, it appears you can also see them at times during daylight. If you go to Assateague, happy hunting!