← JournalNotes from the Kelp Forest

Stipe Sprinter Crab

Celeripes caulicola

Coastal6 cm carapace · Sprinting · alert

Field record

It sprints the length of a stipe in the time it takes me to log a coordinate, then stops dead against a scar in the bark-like surface, legs tucked flush to the ridges, and is gone from view without having moved an inch. I have clocked it going the wrong way, upward, faster than it went down, and I still cannot say what it was running from.

Marginal note: “a scar on the stipe that moves if you blink”

Habitat

ZoneThe Kelp Forest

Depth range640–3,000 m

DiscoveryNo special condition — found simply by piloting close enough to identify it.

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 Fleet Haul

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