The helmet crab, Telmessus cheiragonus, in the family Cheiragonidae range from the Chukchi Sea (Sparks and Pereyra, 1966) and Norton Sound, Alaska to Monterey, California; however they are rare south of the Puget Sound, Washington. They also are found from Siberia to Japan in the Western Pacific. Their yellowish coloring and bristles distinguish them easily. Their preferred habitat is eelgrass beds and rocky areas with algal cover from low intertidal to 110 m. During the spring their molted carapaces can be seen on the beaches in large numbers. A similar species, Erimacrus isenbeckii, is caught commercially around the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.

Scientific name: Greek telm (a swamp or pond) and essus (diminutive suffix); and chir (hand) and gonia (angled).

Digital photo by Jan Haaga. References (a complete list) in the text include: Jensen (1995), Williams et al. (1988), Barr (1983), or Hart (1982).

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