Matuta planipes

{{Short description|Species of crab}}

{{speciesbox

| image = Matuta planipes.jpg

| image_caption =

| genus = Matuta

| species = planipes

| authority = Fabricius, 1798

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Matuta planipes is a species of moon crab in the family Matutidae.{{cite web|url=http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=crabs_of_japan&menuentry=soorten&id=721&tab=beschrijving|title=Marine Species Identification Portal : Matuta planipes|publisher=}} It is a small colorful crab with flattened limbs.{{cite web|url=http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Flower+Moon+Crab#tab_literature|title=Matuta planipes : Flower Moon Crab - Atlas of Living Australia|author=Atlas of Living Australia|publisher=}}Saher, N. U., Amanat, Z., Gondal, M. A., & Qureshi, N. A. (2017, January 31). Distribution, Abundance and Population Ecology of Ashtoret lunaris (Forskel, 1775) and Matuta planipes Fabricius, 1798 from the Sonmiani Bay (Lagoon), Pakistan. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from http://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjz/2017.49.2.455.465

Matuta planipes, in contrast to other species of crabs inhale pure oxygen-water through an area near their eye sockets. This species of crabs enjoy spending their daytime hidden under some sort of shade such as a sand bed and they are more active during the night.

This species of crab comes from the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific and Australia. Additionally, they have a widespread distribution that extends from the Red Sea to South Africa, Asia, and Australia.