Description

A Xanthiid crab hides in plain site on a Pocillopora coral branch in Moorea, French Polynesia.

A coral reef bustles with life as you swim through its clear blue waters. Colorful fish and corals dazzle the eyes, but what are you missing? Look deeper. Amidst the branches of stony corals there is a whole other world full of tiny organisms that trick the eye. Cryptic creatures such as this Xanthiid crab hope to avoid predators by blending into the coral as they travel from colony to colony looking for food and mates.