Ghost Crabs on Hawaiian Beaches

You may not have seen these crabs in person, but if you walk the beach in the morning, you’ve certainly seen their handiwork. Ghost crabs live in the intertidal zone and after the high tide recedes, they must clear their burrow of the sand the waves washed in. While there are a number of species worldwide, in Hawaii the question is which of the two species is it?

pallid and horned ghost crab burrows on maui

The pallid ghost crab,” Ocypode pallidula,  is active day and night and produces a fan shaped formation of sand as it excavates its burrow.  The horned ghost crab,  Ocypode ceratophthalma, is active at night and forms a small, cone-shaped heap as it excavates its burrow.  The latter grows to a larger size and at least for adults, larger burrows, with openings larger than 3″ across, are likely to belong to a horned ghost crab.