I took this photo while visiting Assateague Island National Seashore in Berlin, Maryland, on June 14. My original plan was to get a good picture of the wild horses, but I didn’t get any I liked. I was also taking pictures of some type of diving seabird, but the birds were too far away for me to get anything usable.
The Atlantic ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata) is a common species along the Atlantic Coast, where it is the only species of ghost crab. Adults are grayish or the color of straw and around 2 inches wide at maturity; younger crabs are colored to blend in with the sand.
They live in sand burrows above the high tide mark, as deep as 4 feet, and some older individuals dig their burrows as far as 1,300 feet inland. The Atlantic ghost crab has to return to the water to moisten its gills and to release larvae into the sea. They are more active at night and feed on clams, mole crabs, insects, plant material, detritus and sea turtle eggs.
A few notable facts about these particular ghost crabs is their compound eyes can swivel to give them 360-degree vision; they are arguably the fastest terrestrial invertebrates, capable of running at more than a meter per second; and their fossil specimens have been found in rocks dating from the Ice Age.
THE METHOD: Shot with a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Rear Super Telephoto Camera (at 27.20 mm – 230 mm in 35 mm format) 1.0 second at f-4.9 with an ISO of 50. Processed in Adobe Photoshop.
Through the Viewfinder is a weekly feature by LNP | LancasterOnline photographers exploring the art of black-and-white and color photography.