Marine Life

Sheep Crab
(Loxorhynchus grandis)
Courtesy of Tom Haight

This member of the Spider Crab family grows up to have a whopping 6-inch carapace and, with its legs, may be around 18 inches or more across. It gets its name from the fact that it is often covered with a layer of algae that mimics wool on a sheep. The males have much bigger claws than the females. They will eat just about anything, living or dead. They range from Point Reyes to Baja California in sand or rocky-bottomed water as shallow as 10 feet and as deep as 500 feet.