National Museum of Natural Science

The masked crab has an elliptically-shaped carapace, with sharp spines along the edges. The second pair of antennae is long and covered in fine hairs. They are often discovered among rough fish during bottom trawling. Their most distal pair of walking legs is unsegmented, flat, and paddle-shaped, which helps them to quickly burrow into the sand. The relatively large compound eyes and long antennules indicate that this crab has well-developed senses of sight and smell. It usually hides in the sand waits for opportunities to hunt passing prey.

Jonas distinctus