Hiraisogani (flat rock crab) - Hiraisogani (English name) Gaetice depressus

Japanese: ヒライソガニ(平磯蟹) - ヒライソガニ（英語表記）Gaetice depressus

A decapod crustacean of the family Grapsidae (illustration). The shell is about 2.5 cm wide. It is found from Hokkaido to Okinawa, as well as in Korea and northern China, and is the most common crab found on rocky reefs, with a very large population. It spends its time burrowing under pebbles at low tide and becomes active when the tide comes in. Some small individuals are uniformly white, but as they grow, they become darker and white spots remain to various degrees. Many individuals have a uniform brown or greenish brown color with irregular yellow-white spots, but there is a great deal of color variation, with some individuals even being uniformly purple-black.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

十脚目イワガニ科の甲殻類（イラスト）。甲幅2.5cmくらい。北海道から沖縄まで，また，韓国や中国北部に分布し，岩礁にもっともふつうに見られるカニで，個体数が著しく多い。干潮時には小石の下に潜って過ごし，潮が満ちてくると活動を始める。小型の個体には一様に白色のものもいるが，成長とともに濃色となり，さまざまな程度に白斑が残る。じみな褐色ないし緑褐色に不規則な黄白色斑をもつ個体が多いが，一様に紫黒色の個体まで著しく色彩変異に富む。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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