Gecarcinus lateralis (Freminville, 1835)

Rogers, D. Christopher & Cruz-Rivera, Edwin, 2021, A preliminary survey of the inland aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Journal of Natural History 55 (13 - 14), pp. 799-850 : 818

Gecarcinus lateralis (Freminville, 1835)

We found G. lateralis in coastal, lowland forested areas on St. Thomas at Brewers Bay, Dorothea Beach, Neltjeberg Bay, Abi Beach, Magens Beach, the University of the Virgin Islands campus, and in Fortuna pond. Rathbun (1933), Beatty (1968), and Chase and Hobbs (1969) provide records from Water Island, St. Thomas, and St. Croix. This species is not especially aquatic; however, we found the burrows associated with freshwater features, and when excavated, they typically extended down to wet earth or the water table.