Interesting Purple and White tiny baby crab at San Buenaventura Beach. Still alive and threw back into the ocean.
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Key Morphological Traits: small crab residing in bivalves; soft shelled; whitish to translucent coloration with orange patches
Fun Fact: Z. ostreus larvae are free-swimming in their early life stages to seek out their oyster hosts. Once reaching adulthood, male crabs continue to be free-swimming to find mates, while females remain in their oyster until maturity and lay their eggs inside.