Cute ghost crabs can delight children of all ages

My wife Jenny’s idea of “therapy” for almost anything, or even for nothing, is sand, water, and sunsets.

 

Since our first evening walk on the beach at the Isle of Palms in 1987, my wife can combine an oceanside trek with almost anything – a movie, some astronomical event, appetizers at the front beach, dinner in Mount Pleasant – there are no limits. 

 

Like most natural settings, the beach looks much different at night than it does when crowded with locals and tourists on a summer afternoon. There is a peacefulness to it, a quiet calm, and, of course, ghost crabs.

 

Ocypode quadrata is a subfamily of semi-terrestrial crabs closely related to fiddler crabs, another common creature here in the Lowcountry. 

 

Since there have been beaches and people, the ghost crab has been fascinating them, their pets, and especially their children. There is just something about these creatures scuttling quickly over the evening sand, only to pop unexpectedly into some perfectly sized hole that demands pursuit!

 

They can disappear into mounds of seaweed or scoot very quickly away to escape trouble, too, if there isn’t a burrow close by. These crabs are sometimes referred to as sand crabs. But “sand crabs,” or “sand fleas,” are actually a smaller, separate species named mole crabs. And these are a staple food for ghost crabs.

 

The combination of their nocturnal nature and their pale coloration seems to have earned these critters the name of ghost crab.

 

They will spend much of the day deep in burrows beneath the sand. Average adults are about two inches across, and while entry holes tend to be little more than crab-sized, these burrows can be quite expansive and up to four feet deep. According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, ghost crabs spend much of the winter in their burrows, and they will even close the door, or seal the opening, if it gets too cold.

 

On summer evenings, the crabs can be seen emerging to seek out their favorite foods, which are small clams, mole crabs, insects, and the eggs and hatchlings of sea turtles, among other things. 

 

Loud squeals and giggles coming from flashlight-wielding, running children or frustrated barks and frantic digging by someone’s family pet almost surely indicate a ghost crab is on the prowl.

 

While they do have gills, ghost crabs are primarily land animals. They actually cannot survive long underwater. Through an interesting adaptation, hairs on their legs wick up water from wet sand to supply their gills and allow them to breathe.

 

They can also change color to match their surroundings, which is handy if they need to be out in the daytime.

 

While these crabs can’t live in the ocean, their eggs can. After a male crab has proved himself dominant over his competitors and fertilized the eggs of a female, she will lay them at the ocean’s edge, where they will drift for roughly six weeks before young crabs appear and take to the beaches.

 

A final interesting feature is the ghost crab’s eyes, which are mounted atop long stalks and can rotate to offer a nearly 360-degree view. This is helpful in finding prey at night.

 

So, chase them if you must!

 

And let them go if you happen to catch any.

 

The children’s laughter is soothing to the soul, and even more soothing is the quiet left behind once the little ones are tucked in bed, and the beach again belongs to the moon, the waves, a few strolling couples, and the ghost crabs.