Visit Our Diving Center
View our Accommodation
  • Immersioni
    • Corsi Diving
    • Apnea Diving
    • Immersioni Accompagnate
    • Listino Prezzi Sub
  • Alloggio
  • Offerte Speciali
  • Servizi di Vacanza
  • Siti di Immersione
  • Gozo
  • Chi siamo
  • Contattaci
Negozio on-line Dive Checkin
  • IT
    • EN
    • FR
    • DE
    • PL
  • Immersioni
    • Corsi Diving
    • Apnea Diving
    • Immersioni Accompagnate
    • Listino Prezzi Sub
  • Alloggio
  • Offerte Speciali
  • Servizi di Vacanza
  • Siti di Immersione
  • Gozo
  • Chi siamo
  • Contattaci
02. 08. 202002. 08. 2020

Sally Lightfoot Crab (Percnon gibbesi)

Home » Blog » Sally Lightfoot Crab (Percnon gibbesi)
Sally Lightfoot Crab

Percnon gibbesi, the Sally Lightfoot Crab (a.k.a. the Nimble Spray Crab), is a marine crab species.  It is one of the most widespread grapsid crabs, being found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, on the Pacific coast of North America and now also around the Maltese Islands and the Mediterranean Sea.

Percnon gibbesi is the most invasive decapod crustacean to have entered the Mediterranean Sea.  The vessel-transported crab was first recorded in 1999 from the Balearic Islands and Sicily.  Since then it has since spread to the Tyrrhenian and Ionian coasts of Italy, and eastwards to Turkey and Libya.  This alien species reached the Maltese shores in 2001.  Everywhere, it has formed thriving high-density populations in an amazingly short space of time.  Habitat overlap was noted with the native grapsid Pachygrapsus marmoratus and the pebble crab Eriphia verrucosa.

The genus Percnon belongs to the family Percnidae, superfamily Grapsoidea, infraorder Brachyura, suborder Pleocyemata, order Decapoda, class Malacostraca, subphylum Crustacea, phylum Arthropoda and kingdom Animalia.

The Sally Lightfoot Crab tolerates a wide range of water temperatures from 16-31ºC; however, 20-26ºC is preferred.  It inhabits a narrow subtidal zone, commonly at depths of 0 to 2 metres, in rocky habitats where it moves to safety under boulders and in narrow crevices.  It is preyed upon by fish and invertebrates.

Percnon gibbesi is a beautiful crab, easily recognisable by the extremely thin carapace, the long and flattened legs, and the colourful coat, brown with red lines and yellow circles close to the articulations.  Adults have a carapace 30 millimetres wide.  Each of the five pairs of walking legs has a row of spines along the leading edge.  Females carrying eggs have been caught off West Africa between February and April and August; the larvae which hatch from them are planktonic and long-lived, which may contribute to the species’ invasiveness.

Unusually among temperate crabs, the Sally Lightfoot Crab is strictly herbivorous.  They were observed to feed on the following algae: Stypocaulon (Halopteris) scoparium, Hypnea musciformis, Liagora viscida, Gelidium crinale, Sphacelaria sp., Caulerpa racemosa, Jania rubens, Padina pavonica and Dictyopteris polypodioides.  This flexibility in feeding may have facilitated the spread of Percnon gibbesi in the Mediterranean.

Right now, it seems that this invasion is not creating variations in the ecosystem, maybe thanks to the fact that Percnon gibbesi is decidedly herbivorous, while the largest part of Mediterranean crabs is detritivorous or carnivorous.  So, the new species found a free ecologic space, and it has been able to easily settle down and, in the meanwhile, does not compete with the already present species.

This said, interactions between different species within the ecosystems are complex and rich of implications.  Therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible, to understand the long-term effects of the introduction of such new species which do not create huge immediate variations.

The photo of this Sally Lightfoot Crab was taken at a depth of 4m at Xatt l-Aħmar on Gozo’s south coast.

Photo taken by Brian Azzopardi

Notizie simili

Bath Sponge
05. 02. 2021

Bath Sponge (Spongia officinalis)

Spongia officinalis, better known as a variety of Bath Sponge, is a commercially used sea sponge.  Individuals grow in large...

Di più
Green Boring Sponge
09. 01. 202109. 01. 2021

Green Boring Sponge (Cliona viridis)

Cliona viridis, the Green Boring Sponge, is a species of demosponge found along the eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean,...

Di più
Merry Christmas
11. 12. 2020

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year 2021

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year 2021 Wishing you all the best ! Happy Holidays from the Atlantis Gozo...

Di più

Reviews

Tolles Center für Sport- Tec und Rebreather Taucher. Bestens zu empfehlen 😃, immer wieder gerne hier 👍.
Manfred Kleemann
Manfred Kleemann
2022-05-23T05:51:17+0000
Our club goes out to Malta/Gozo every year and Atlantis was by far the best centre we have dealt with. The communication building up to the trip was great. So helpful. Our club has a mixed range of diver levels and Atlantis made sure that all our levels was covered. On arrival the welcome was very warming. They couldn’t have been more helpful. Once the admin and kit issue was done we was on our way. The end I’ve every day the team was on hand to assist us making sure we was all prepared for the following day. Nitrox, stages, fills and so on. The end of our trip the staff even came to the apartment to say farewell and seen us off. One of our club members left their regs by mistake but the team contacted us and meet us at the ferry port to return them. Thank you so much!!! We will be returning next year.
Alex Lucas
Alex Lucas
2022-04-21T07:36:58+0000
Highly recommended dive centre! We got all needed services in very friendly atmosphere. Thank you!!
Gedimas Usack
Gedimas Usack
2021-11-27T20:24:01+0000
I did a package deal of 10 dives with Atlantis and was extremely impressed from the get go. The center was very well equipped and maintained and the staff were awesome, totally committed to making sure everyone was welcomed and having fun whilst keeping a high level of professionalism. The guides (Denis, Georgia, Apollo, George) were very knowledgeable and friendly. I highly recommend Atlantis to anyone looking for a solid and trustworthy center with fair prices. P.s. Go in November, its way less busy and the vis is still good!
Jakob Wayne Víkingur Robertson
Jakob Wayne Víkingur Robertson
2021-11-18T01:22:10+0000
awesome place awesome people!
Richard Binks
Richard Binks
2021-10-20T05:07:13+0000
‹
›

Newsletter

Iscriviti alla nostra newsletter, ricevi le ultime notizie e le offerte speciali da parte del team Atlantis! Facendo questo accetti i nostri Privacy Policy

Mailchimp
Sending
  • Chi siamo
    • Lavora con noi
    • Partner
  • Immersioni
    • Corsi Diving
    • Corsi PADI
    • CMAS & VDST Kurse
    • BSAC Courses
    • Corsi di Specialità
    • Immersioni Accompagnate
    • Immersioni non-accompagnate
    • Immersioni TEK
    • Noleggio attrezzatura
    • Listino Prezzi Sub
  • Siti di Immersione
  • Servizi di Vacanza
    • Alloggio
    • Trasferimento da/per aeroporto
    • Autonoleggio
    • Escursioni
  • Offerte Speciali
  • Gozo
  • Galleria di foto
    • Ringraziamenti per le foto
  • Contattaci

Copyright © 2023 Atlantis Diving Center. All rights reserved.
Informativa sulla privacy | CONDIZIONI GENERALI | Refund Policy

Website designed & developed by