Please help with species!**species ID

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 1:38 am

I'm sorry for these bad pix but this stupid camera second-guesses my focusing and I can't get the pictures I'd like to take.

Please don't think I'm an imbecile - I know the first one looks like a strawberry but when I first got it, it was orange and I swore it was a cavipes. I don't know how it got redder but in one picture you can see a contrast with one I know is a strawberry. Is this smaller one a strawberry also or not?

http://www.patsco.com/hermie/

Lower in the page are a couple I think are Rugosus, but they could be Cavipes - ? Can someone please check and let me know if I'm wrong and how you knew I was wrong? I wanted to get better pictures while I had them out for some sunshine but the camera would not cooperate.

Edit title topic only-CM

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 2:23 am

I don't see anything particularly wrong with the photos. Maybe a bit off view...

Crab in first and second pic is definitely a Straw. Cloudy eyes and white spots are a dead giveaway.

Now the bigger darker guy in the third picture... that's a bit tough... he definitely has the white spots. I think the best way to tell is if you could get a picture of the eye shape and color. Never seen a Straw that dark, so I'd think PP.

Fourth looks like a ruggie to me, however the fifth one might be a PP? It sorta looks like he has the Comma shaped eyes from that top down view...
Edit: On a closer look I see the black markings under the eye stalk, so I think it is a rug.

The lighter one in the 6th photo is a rug, I can see the black marks under the eyes... The darker one there is a bit hard to tell, can't see eyes...

7th is probably a rug too, I'm almost inclined to say E, but because of the shell, I say ruggie..

I'm no expert species identifier here, so please, someone correct me. I wanna see how many I got right.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 3:34 am

PP! It didn't even occur to me. Here are pix of the ones I thought I knew:

http://www.patsco.com/hermie/known.htm

That dark strawberry-? is included.

MacandHunter · Post by **MacandHunter** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 6:14 am

Welcome to the HCA!

That first one is a straw I am positive.

The staw with rug picture, I think that is a rug, but a way to tell that I can't see in that pic is stich marks on its big pincher. Does he have that? I think he is a rug becuase of his back leg is a light color then the other legs and thats how my rug leg is to. The eyes also look like the shape of a rug.

The picture to the right oh "Are these rugs" I think that is a PP. I'm pretty sure.

The next one, I think that tanish one is a rug, since I see the thick eyestalk. I'm not sure about the darker colored one, but I think that could be a rug, but I'm not sure.

The last one is a rug, I can see the thick eye stalks.

Hope I helped you!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 3:41 pm

LorraineP wrote:PP! It didn't even occur to me. Here are pix of the ones I thought I knew:

http://www.patsco.com/hermie/known.htm

That dark strawberry-? is included.

Are they from PetCo?

Some PetCo's mislabel PP's as Strawberries...

Like I said, best givaway is the eyes! Straws have elongated, oval eyes that are greyish/cloudy usually. PP's have round comma ',' shaped eyes.

Then again they also call Ruggies, Fancy crabs, or something like that lol.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 3:46 pm

MacandHunter wrote:The picture to the right oh "Are these rugs" I think that is a PP. I'm pretty sure.

Yeah, but if you look closely, you can see the typical Ruggie elongated eyestalk, even with the black marks underneath the eye.

MacandHunter · Post by **MacandHunter** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 4:08 pm

Shadow wrote: Yeah, but if you look closely, you can see the typical Ruggie elongated eyestalk, even with the black marks underneath the eye.

I know that color is not always a good way to ID, but its legs really look like a PP. Could you get a picture of his BP? If he has no stick marks he is a PP.

MacandHunter · Post by **MacandHunter** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 4:09 pm

Shadow wrote: Yeah, but if you look closely, you can see the typical Ruggie elongated eyestalk, even with the black marks underneath the eye.

I know that color is not always a good way to ID, but its legs really look like a PP. Could you get a picture of his BP? If he has no stick marks he is a PP.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 4:23 pm

MacandHunter wrote: I know that color is not always a good way to ID, but its legs really look like a PP. Could you get a picture of his BP? If he has no stick marks he is a PP.

Yeah, that's why I had doubts if it was a ruggie, untill I saw the eyes... that could just be a visual illusion anyway. Or me just imagining things lol.

Gorthaur · Post by **Gorthaur** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 6:27 pm

It's okay everybody. I'm here

First picture: Straw
Second: Straw on the left, Rug on the right
Third: Straw on the left, and possibly a very dark Straw on the right
Fourth: Straw
Fifth: Ruggie on the left and Straw on the right
Sixth: definitely a PP
Seventh: Two Ruggies
Eighth: Rug on the left and Straw on the right

HomieHermie999 · Post by **HomieHermie999** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 6:43 pm

Hey Gorth, could the one in the 5th pic next to the straw be a dark cav, only reason i think that is because of V shaped eyes....kind of hard to tell without pics of claws.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:15 pm

Never saw a straw like that.. wow

MacandHunter · Post by **MacandHunter** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:29 pm

Gorthaur wrote:It's okay everybody. I'm here

First picture: Straw
Second: Straw on the left, Rug on the right
Third: Straw on the left, and possibly a very dark Straw on the right
Fourth: Straw
Fifth: Ruggie on the left and Straw on the right
Sixth: definitely a PP
Seventh: Two Ruggies
Eighth: Rug on the left and Straw on the right

Glad we have you here, your the best at IDing, and are sure that your right!

Gorthaur · Post by **Gorthaur** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:37 pm

homiehermie999 wrote:Hey Gorth, could the one in the 5th pic next to the straw be a dark cav, only reason i think that is because of V shaped eyes....kind of hard to tell without pics of claws.

I would say no. I can tell he's a Ruggie beacause of the back leg, which is colored differently from the rest of the body (this is not unique to Rugs, but it does differentiate them from Cavs) and flattened like a scythe (which is unique to Rugs). It would be even easier to ID him with a picture of the BP, where stitches could confirm him as a Rug.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 1:04 am

Thanks for all the helps! I will try to get better pictures next time I take them outside. They all bury during the week, except the ones I think are strawberries. I think I know what's wrong with the camera - I need to put a background right behind the crabs when I'm taking the picture. Most of these pictures that came out were all inside of the big bin I put them in to run around when I take them out. The camera doesn't get so confused when it's there I guess. Never get a camera like this! It overrides you if it thinks the picture is blurry, and then won't take the shot. It's digital too, it's not like I'm wasting film, it should just let me take it. I wanted to get the sensible shots of them in the shell, and their BPs and all, but I got so frustrated. Then when I saw these had actually come out, I realized what I should try next time.

I want to get an Indo and a Cavipes and an Ecuadorian but I can't seem to find any here in NJ. It's interesting to see how different the personalities of the species are.

Thanks again.