Fiddler Crab Guide: West Africa and Europe
This is part 4 of a series of planned posts about identifying fiddler crabs. Previous entries include:
- How to Identify Fiddler Crabs from Photos (or in the field)
- Is It a Fiddler Crab?
- Fiddler Crabs of the Atlantic Coast of the USA
Fiddler Crabs of West Africa and Europe
This guide is designed for identification “in the field” where you might be looking at live crabs by eye or through binoculars or from photographs. I will generally try to avoid characters that will require you to physically catch the crab, although I may mention a few for secondary verification. It does not include the more strict taxonomist-style characters that may only be visible under a microscope or via dissection. It is also assumed that the individuals are living, as death (and even capture) can cause dramatic color change.
This is a guide to the fiddler crabs of West Africa and Europe. There is only one species, so identification is guaranteed.
Afruca tangeri is the only fiddler crab found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including the West coast of Africa, from Angola in the south to Morocco and the Strait of Gibraltar in the north, major islands such as Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and southwestern Europe, including the southwestern coast of Spain and the southern and southwestern coasts of Portugal. It is not found past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean.
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