A crab that has not been recorded since 1956 has been found in Devon.
The species, known scientifically as Xaiva biguttata, was found by Jules Agate during a survey for the citizen science project Capturing Our Coast.
“I’m really thrilled to have found a rare species,” says Agate. “I’m by no means a crab geek and I thought it was a juvenile shore crab, which is common species, but I knew it looked a bit ‘wrong’.”
Agate took a photograph and shared it with experts at The Marine Biological Association.
They confirmed it wasn’t a shore crab but was a species that had only been recorded in the UK four times before.
It is a difficult crab to spot as it buries itself, so Agate was lucky to find it during the timed survey, which records different species and their abundance within a set area.
“It just shows you what can turn up when a group of you go out rockpooling,” says Agate.
Capturing Our Coast is a nationwide citizen science project to survey the UK coastline.
