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 photos copyright John P. Hoover unless otherwise credited

Jonesius triunguiculatus (Borradaile, 1902)
family Xanthidae
      Dennis McCrea and Debbie Newbery found this small crab on a Cushion Star off the Kona coast of the Big Island. They have photographed others as well, and Pauline Fiene says she has often seen small crabs on Cushion Stars off Maui--presumably the same species. Dr. Peter Castro identified the one in the photo above as Jonesius triunguiculatus (previously, Maldivia triunguiculatus). Up till now, this small xanthid has been known primarily as a symbiont of Porites corals, in which it creates small crevices or chambers. Do they spend much time on the stars, or are they just hitching a ride to another Porites coral head? Who knows, but in this video by Debbie one of these crabs appears to be feeding off the surface of the star.

http://tinyurl.com/yklqxrq

If the little commensal Periclimenes soror shrimps find food there, why not the crabs? By the way, Cushion Stars feed on coral, though generally not the Porites corals inhabited by the crab.

BROAD-FRONTED CRAB Xanthias latifrons
family Xanthidae
John Earle captured this crab on video at the Lanai Lookout, Oahu. Dr. Peter Ng identified it as a species of the genus Xanthias. Dr. Joseph Poupin further identified it as Xanthias latifrons. There is already a photo of X. latifrons in my book Hawaii's Sea Creatures, but apparently that photo is of a small specimen with a slightly different color pattern.

Gaillardiellus superciliaris Odhner, 1925
family Xanthidae
Kewalo Park, O`ahu. 2 ft.

Epiactaea nodulosa (White, 1847)
family Xanthidae
Photo by Tina Owens, Kona, Hawai`i

Tweedieia laysani (Rathbun, 1906)
family Xanthidae
Photos: (top) Tina Owens, Kona, Hawai`i.
(bottom) Kelli Shaw. Crab found at base of Pocillopora exydouxi, "Horsehoe Reef" (next to the Kewalo Pipe), O`ahu. 45 ft. at night.

unidentified xanthid
Photo by Tina Owens, Kona, Hawai`i
According to Dr. Peter Ng this could be a species of Etisus, if from a coral reef. Or if from a rocky shore it might be Leptodius.

Paramedaeus sp
family Xanthidae.
(possibly P. octogesimus Ng and Clark, 2002)
Photo by Tina Owens, Kona, Hawai`