DSC_9948 Purple shore crab, or papaka nui (Leptograpsus variegatus) juvenile, foraging in rock pool at night. Goat Island Marine Reserve, Leigh
DSC_9965 Purple shore crab, or papaka nui (Leptograpsus variegatus) detail of large male foraging on rocky shore at night. Goat Island Marine Reserve, Leigh
DSC_9933 Purple shore crab (Leptograpsus variegatus) more abundant in the north of New Zealand. This crab will leave the intertidal zone, to enter coastal forest and seek terrestrial prey such as young seabirds and snails. Here a garden snail is being consumed well after dark, and 20m above the shoreline on coastal cliffs at Goat Island Marine Reserve, Leigh