Lybia tessellata

Lybia tessellata
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Xanthidae
Genus: Lybia
Species:
L. tessellata
Binomial name
Lybia tessellata
(Latreille in Milbert, 1812)
Synonyms 
  • Grapse tessellata Latreille, 1812
  • Melia tessellata Latreille, 1812

Lybia tessellata is a species of small crab in the family Xanthidae. It is found in shallow parts of the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean. They are found from the east coast of Africa in the Red Sea across Northern Japan and Northern and Eastern Hawaii. Like other members of the genus Lybia, it is commonly known as the pom-pom crab, cheerleader crab, or boxer crab because of its habit of carrying a sea anemone around in each of its claws, these resembling pom-poms or boxing gloves.