We saw this Fiddler Crab (and an entire bluegrass festival's worth) along the Hackensack River recently. (We thank  Erik Kiviat for letting us tag along.)

    As we are learning, there are more than one type of Fiddler Crab around. According to NJMC naturalist Brett Bragin:

   "The diagnostic features to look for would be: 1) were there grooves on the carapace behind the eyes?  2) was it over 7/8" long?, 3) Did it have an oblique row of tubercles on the palm of the large claw?, and 4) did it have red joints? 

   "If yes, I would say it was Uca minax, the brackish-water fiddler crab (sometimes called the red-jointed fiddler crab).  If not, then it was probably the mud fiddler crab (Uca pugnax)."

   We are thinking the latter.

     More on Fiddler Crabs here. 

   Click "Continue reading…" for a photo of another kind of crab — photographed this week at the Visitor Center.

     We know — the pic isn't a prize-winner, but that Blue-clawed Crab is underwater. We shot this earlier this week at low tide in the Kingsland Tidal Impoundment — aka the Shorebird Pool — in the west pool (closest to the buildings).

   For a look at crabbing along the Hackensack River in the old days, check out our oral history blog –meadowblog.net. Link to the crabbing post is here.