Tidepool Knuckle Crab

Pugnus litoralis

Coastal9 cm carapace · Territorial · stubborn

Field record

It has claimed a single fist-sized socket in the reef rock and will not be moved from it — not by tide, not by me nudging the drone closer than I should have. It raised the larger claw a full centimetre off the rock, which for an animal this size is a declaration of war.

Marginal note: “raises one claw before anything else moves”

Habitat

ZoneSunlit Reef

Depth range0–600 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+6 Accel

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