Tiny red crabs pay rare visit to Newport

When residents of Balboa Island and Little Balboa Island walked toward Newport Harbor on Wednesday morning, they noticed that a tiny and somewhat unusual guest had made a home in the sandy area around the docks.

Thousands of Pleuroncodes planipes, more commonly known as pelagic red crabs, washed ashore with the high tide, residents said.

The bright red crabs, which are about 4 inches long, have three small legs on each side of their bodies and two pinchers in front, leading some residents to think they were tiny lobsters.

The crabs’ tail is segmented, causing them to swim backward.

Balboa Island resident Kevin Kramp was walking around the island when he saw a large cluster of the critters relaxing in the shade of a dock.

“They look like baby lobsters,” he said. “Someone get the butter.”

Pelagic red crabs are common in warm water along the lower west coast of Baja California. The species is believed to spend the majority of the year hiding on sandy ocean bottoms, experts say.

However, during the spring, the crabs travel in dense schools and occasionally wash ashore, said Southern California Marine Institute Director Daniel Pondella II.

This is the first time in years that Pondella has heard of them being seen in Southern California.

“This is the first warm year we’ve had in quite awhile,” he said. “It could just be a sign of the warm water we’re currently experiencing.”

Some experts estimate that warm southern currents may distribute the crabs into Southern California every six to 10 years. But this is the first time many Newport Beach residents had seen the colorful crustaceans.

Darren Zinter initially thought the crabs were tiny frogs because of how close they were swimming to the surface of the water. Zinter grabbed one to get a closer look before setting it free.

“I’ve never seen these things before,” Zinter said. “It’s incredible.”

Other non-native animals seen off the coast in recent years include blue marlin, whale sharks, wahoo, yellow fin tuna, manta rays and by-the-wind sailors, a form of jellyfish.