About Johngarthia planata (Stimpson, 1860)
Johngarthia planata, commonly known as Johngarthia planata, is a bright orange species of land crab. It inhabits inshore islands and the continental mainland coast along the tropical and subtropical Pacific coast of the Americas. Its recorded range includes the Gulf of California, Colorada, Cano and Nairita Islands in Costa Rica, Gorgona Island in Colombia, and continental mainland beaches in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Colima, Nayarit, Jalisco and Sinaloa. This species is omnivorous, feeding on seaweed (algae), vegetation, and sometimes carrion. Before 2019, land crabs found on Clipperton Island in the eastern Pacific and on Socorro Island in Mexico’s Revillagigedo Islands were grouped with Johngarthia planata. A 2019 re-evaluation determined these populations belong to a separate species, Johngarthia oceanica. Johngarthia oceanica can be distinguished from Johngarthia planata by the shape of the mesial lobe of the infraorbital margin and the color of its carapace.
