New Zealand Seashore

DSC_4014 Pea crab (Nepinnotheres novaezelandiae) juvenile female, inside its Green-lipped mussel host. Pea crabs are completely reliant on their hosts - usually mussels - for shelter and food. They steal filtered food from the mussel, damaging it's gills. Brighton Beach

DSC4014Pea crabPinnotheresNepinnotheresnovaezelandiaejuvenilefemaleGreenlipped musselhostparasiteparasiticBrighton Beach