Bass Yabby

Trypaea australiensis

Systematics: Thalassinidea Family Callianassidae

Distinguishing Characters:
The Bass yabby has a larger cheliped with a strong notch between the curved fingers, very hairy antennae and silvery eyes. It grows to 63 mm long.

Habitat and Distribution:
The Bass yabby lives intertidally in burrows on seagrass flats in southeastern Australia.

General Biology:
This species is sometimes called the “one-armed bandit” by fishermen because it has one cheliped much stronger than the other. It is the most commonly seen species of ghost shrimp in this region although it burrows to more than one metre deep. Like all ghost shrimps the animal spends most of its time deep in its burrow but it must come to the surface to get rid of sediments from new excavations and is then prey to foraging fishes.

Feedback and queries should be sent to the Discovery Centre at Museum Victoria.
Please note, the Discovery Centre can help you only with questions about crustaceans from southeastern Australia. It can not advise on the care of pet hermit crabs or on crustaceans from other regions.