A few days ago, I adopted a new crab.

It was very yellow, had an extremely smooth carapace - and was very big.

Even the female was big, and was about 4cm in carapace length.

According to the seller, it was called a 'Banana Crab.'

I searched the whole internet, and found many names that referred to this crab.

01. Geothelphusa albogilva

02. Terrathelphusa chilensis

03. Terrathelphusa modesta

04. Holthuisana lipkei

It reminded me of this species, which was imported to Korea just about a year ago.

I remember this species well, due to the red spots present on their carapace.

People called it the 'Fire-crab.'

Some people said this was 'Terrathelphusa chilensis,' while others said 'Holthuisana lipkei.'

People said the crab I adopted was a Terrathelphusa chilensis, too.

But there were no distinct red markings on the carapace,

the carapace was too big when compared to the 'Fire-crab,'

and the gigantic claws felt too different as well, as it lacked teeth - and was too round. It reminded me of the giagantic specimens of Cardisoma guanhumi, which also have giant, smooth claws when grown.

As for the female, I wasn't able to find anything special, except for the fact that she was big.

The face of the crab was really similar to the 'Fire-crab,' though.

I searched and searched for the crab which had similar features as this crab - and found 'Geothelphusa albogilva.'

But it was endemic to Taiwan, and my crab was imported from Indonesia.

So then, I continued searching... And came across an article named ''TERRATHELPHUSA, A NEW GENUS OF SEMITERRESTRIAL FRESHWATER CRABS FROM BORNEO AND JAVA (CRUSTACEA: DECAPODA: BRACHYURA: SUNDATHELPHUSIDAE). Peter K.L.Ng.'"

And finally, I was able to find a similar looking crab - which also seemed to lack much teeth, just like my crab.

So I wonder...

Is it really a Terrathelphusa modesta?
Or is it...

Something different?

It will remain a mystery... For now.