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Shoalback Crab

Tergopelta harenae

Coastal5 cm carapace · Burrowing · patient

Field record

It digs itself flush into the sand at the shoal's edge until only the eyestalks show, and waits there long enough that small fish forget it's a crab at all and graze the sand right over its back. The moment one strays too close it doesn't lunge — it simply closes, the whole animal folding upward around the catch in under a second. I never see it happen; I only ever see that it has.

Marginal note:leaves no trace but the shape of its own absence

Habitat

Depth range0600 m
DiscoveryOnly shows itself to a drone moving well under its own top speed. Ease off the throttle as you close.

Catching it

A Coastal-tier catch needs at least a Fine Mesh Net— anything under that rating can never hold it, whatever the throw. Bought at the Quartermaster’s counter for 90 crystals. A held net inks this entry for good and pays its ledger bonus on the spot.

Ledger bonus on capture+5 Accel

Full capture mechanics — sighting vs. capture, the aim ring, why a net below a creature’s tier always bursts — in The Ledger.

Sharing this water

Other species catalogued in Sunlit Reef: