An unusual crustacean caught off Kinmen County last week was identified as a rare tiger face crab.
Crab expert and National Sun Yat-sen University doctoral candidate Li Jheng-jhang (李政璋) on Monday last week said he was able to study the crab after receiving it from a fisher friend the previous week.
Citing the fisher, Li said that the crab was caught in waters about 5m deep and that the fisher sent the frozen specimen for study by airmail after noticing it was unusual.
Photo courtesy of Li Jheng-jhang
The tiger face crab is a famously peculiar species (Orithyia sinica) that forms its own genus (Orithyia) and family (Orithyiidae), which reside along the coasts of China and South Korea, but not Taiwan or Japan, Li said.
Although it is sometimes found in Kinmen, Li has not yet seen one there, he said.
The tiger face crab, which some consider a delicacy, derives its name from the patterns on its shell — two circular black-on-white spots over black and yellow stripes — resembling a painted tiger face, he said.
The specimen would be donated to an academic institution in Taiwan for permanent storage, Li said.
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