New Zealand Seashore

DSC_7245 Pea crab (Nepinnotheres novaezelandiae) large gravid female, with smaller male partially concealed beneath. Living inside Green-lipped mussels, pea crabs are completely reliant on their hosts for shelter and food. They steal filtered food from the mussel, damaging it's gills. Brighton Beach *

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DSC_7245 Pea crab (Nepinnotheres novaezelandiae) large gravid female, with smaller male partially concealed beneath. Living inside Green-lipped mussels, pea crabs are completely reliant on their hosts for shelter and food. They steal filtered food from the mussel, damaging it's gills. Brighton Beach *

DSC 7245 Pea crab Pinnotheres Nepinnotheres novaezelandiae adult gravid female male pair Greenlipped mussel host parasite parasitic Brighton Beach