Atergatis roseus
Source-cited species reference: taxonomy from WoRMS, biology from SeaLifeBase, occurrence map from GBIF, description from Wikipedia.
Atergatis roseus, the pancake crab, is a species of reef crab from the family Xanthidae with a natural range extending from the Red Sea to Fiji. It has colonised the eastern Mediterranean by Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal. The flesh of this crab, like many other species in the family Xanthidae, is toxic.
- Scientific name
- Atergatis roseus
- Authority
- (Rüppell, 1830)
- Family
- Xanthidae
- Order
- Decapoda
- Depth range
- 0–3 m
- Habitat zone
- reef-associated
- Gbif occurrence records
- 37
Classification (WoRMS)
Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Arthropoda · Class: Malacostraca · Order: Decapoda · Family: Xanthidae · Genus: Atergatis.
Accepted name: Atergatis roseus · Authority: (Rüppell, 1830) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 107425.
Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Atergatis marginata (Rüppell, 1830); Atergatis marginatus (Rüppell, 1830); Atergatis scrobiculatus Heller, 1861; Cancer marginatus (Rüppell, 1830); Cancer orientalis Herbst, 1790; Cancer roseus (Rüppell, 1830); Carpilius marginatus Rüppell, 1830; Carpilius roseus Rüppell, 1830.
Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=107425 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)
Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Atergatis roseus. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.
Depth range: 0–3 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated.
SeaLifeBase notes: Maximum depth from Ref. 115277. Infratidal (Ref. 365), commonly lives in tropical coral reefs (Ref. 108028) and among rubble (Ref. 115275). Little is known on its feeding behavior and preferences (Ref. 115350).
Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 9338) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Atergatis-roseus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)
37 georeferenced occurrence records for Atergatis roseus are published through GBIF from 12 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 13 distinct locations from a sample of 37 records, omitting 10 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.
Most records by country or area: Türkiye (13); Israel (7); Greece (4); Cyprus (3); Syrian Arab Republic (2); Samoa (2); China (1); Egypt (1); Eritrea (1); Indonesia (1); Lebanon (1); South Africa (1).
Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: European waters (ERMS scope); Mauritian Exclusive Economic Zone; Red Sea; Mozambican Exclusive Economic Zone; Mediterranean Sea; Natal; Indo-Pacific; Fijian Exclusive Economic Zone; Israeli part of the Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin; Syrian Exclusive Economic Zone; Levantine Sea; Cypriote part of the Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin; Turkish part of the Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin; Lebanese part of the Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin; Turkish part of the Aegean Sea; Greek part of the Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin; Greek part of the Aegean Sea.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2227756) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2227756&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=107425 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Description and natural history (Wikipedia)
Atergatis roseus has a wide, smooth, oval carapace with convex almost entire, with no indication of regions and with bluntly crested anterolateral margins. The pereiopods are laterally compressed with distal crests on the upper and lower margins. The carapace is reddish brown and the legs have black tips, younger specimens are paler, more reddish orange, with a white margins to the carapace. They grow to 6 cm, measuring the carapace length from the head to the posterior.
Atergatis roseus has wide Indo-Pacific distribution being found from the Red Sea and eastern Africa, south to KwaZulu-Natal east along the coasts of the Indian Ocean into the Pacific as far as Fiji. In the eastern Mediterranean, A. roseus was first recorded from Israel in 1961, then from Lebanon and the southern coasts of Turkey and Syria. It reached the Aegean Sea in 2005 and was found as far as Rhodes by 2009.
Atergatis roseus inhabits coral reefs and rocky substrata, from the low tide mark to a depth of 30 metres. It prefers shallow reef rich areas with an abundance of places to hide. It is mainly nocturnal, as well as slow moving, and so it prefers to be near the security of a hiding place to which it can retreat when threatened. It is omnivorous but a large part of its diet is made up of plant material, although specimens have been recorded feeding on fish.
The meat of Atergatis roseus, like that of many other crabs from the family Xanthidae is toxic. The toxins are synthesised by bacteria of the genus Vibrio which live in symbiosis with the crab and the poisons are one similar to those found in puffer fish, i.e. tetrodotoxin, and also paralytic shellfish poison.
Source: Wikipedia: Atergatis roseus — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atergatis_roseus (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
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