Sister found 2 at the beach in Port A. Assume it is some sort of crab but what kind?

Maybe a purse crab?

http://txmarspecies.tamug.edu/invertdetails.cfm?scinameID=Persephona%20mediterranea

Looks like a mottled purse crab to me.

Edit to add: *i type too slow... missed it by that much

Agree with mottled purse crab.

Redfish bait

Seashell

C@LAg said:

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EskimoJoe said:

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sawemoffshort85 said:

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In before "dickfer".

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in before "what's a dickfer?"

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in before "your mom"

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This isn't the general board.

Aggiebrewer said:

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your mom

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What's your mom?

That is the carapace - the top back shell - of a mottled purse crab. The crab has to molt, or shed, its hard outer layer in order to grow larger. The new carapace is soft and under the current hard outer layer. It splits the seam at the rear of the carapace and wiggles out backwards with a whole new soft layer , then inflates slightly with water to expand the new layer , which then hardens and becomes the new hard, outer layer.

So this carapace represents the former size of the crab , with the new, whole and living crab being slightly larger than this and alive somewhere out in the water.