ghost crab

American  

noun

1. a whitish crab, Ocypode albicans, of sandy beaches from the eastern coast of the U.S. to Brazil.

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Etymology

Origin of ghost crab

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

The scientists set up a series of microphones around ghost crab tanks and provoked the animals with rods, other crabs, or spiderlike remote-controlled toys.

From Science Magazine

Using the gastric mill for communication frees up the ghost crab’s claws for fighting and defense and even allows the animals to communicate during battles, enabling them to broadcast their size to intimidate rivals.

From Science Magazine

The ghost crab may change that.

From Science Magazine

This “stridulation” is often a response to threats—either from a predator or another ghost crab.

From Science Magazine

Lady crabs, blue claw crabs and spider crabs all shuttle about the muddy, gritty bottoms of New York City’s shores with familiar clumsiness, but scampering over the city’s sandy Atlantic beaches at almost 10 miles per hour is an anomaly known as the ghost crab.

From New York Times