''Davusia glabra'', commonly called the shiny bait crab, Sowrie crab or Sourie crab is the sole species of crab in the genus ''Davusia''. It lives around the low tide area on rocky ocean shores on the eastern coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

(southern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

), in crevices and rock pools and on rock platforms. Its distribution is stated differently in different sources; some have described the crab's habitat as from Queensland to as far south as the NSW-Victorian border, while others have stated it can be found as far south as Wilson's Promontory (Southern Victoria). Its

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

is grey to fawn-colored with very small green spots, resulting in ''Davusia glabra'' having a greenish appearance. The width of the carapace is around 30-40 mm across and is smooth without hair, slightly wider than long, with 3 distinct spines at each edge. ''Plagusia glabra'' is a synonym of ''Davusia glabra,''. The species was placed in the new ''Davusia'' genus in 2007 due to differences in morphology from other species in Plagusia.

References

Grapsoidea Arthropods of Queensland Arthropods of Victoria (state) Endemic fauna of Australia Monotypic decapod genera {{Grapsoidea-stub