El Niño Compendium
Pelagic Red Crab
Also calledtuna crab, red crab, lobster krill
Range status
North of rangeRarity this season
RareNormally off Baja California; in California only in warm-water years.
Primary biome
Secondary biomes
Sightings
2026 season, every one sourced
Southern California
- Oct 22, 2026Channel Islands National Park, Santa Barbara CountyA juvenile, photographed on a beachSource: iNaturalist 410130781
- Oct 15, 2026Santa Cruz Channel, Channel IslandsSource: iNaturalist 408821500
- Oct 9, 2026La Jolla Shores, over the sand dollar bedsJuvenilesSource: Diver post via Jarvis, Oct 9
- Sept 27, 2026Off La JollaSource: iNaturalist 404012976
Photos
From California this season
Home Range
Where it normally lives
Normally off Baja California, reaching California only in warm-water years.
Range source: Ichthyopedia dossier: pelagic red crab
Habitat
The open water over the continental shelf, and sand and mud bottom at about 160 to 1,200 feet
Taxonomy
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Malacostraca
Order
Decapoda
Family
Munididae
Genus / Species
Grimothea planipes
Family, common name
Squat lobsters
Rarity
Rarity this season
Rare
Reports this season
4
Conservation status
Not Evaluated
Rarity in the compendium is how often the animal has been reported on the California coast this season, not how rare it is where it normally lives. It moves as new sightings come in.
Full Species Profile
The pelagic red crab has a full Ichthyopedia entry with its natural history, seasonality and where to find it in a normal year.
Read the Pelagic Red Crab entry →