Hemigrapsus

Hemigrapsus is a genus of varunid crabs comprising thirteen species found almost exclusively in the Pacific Ocean. The natural range of the genus is restricted to the Pacific Ocean, except for Hemigrapsus affinis which lives along the Atlantic coasts of South America, from Cape São Roque (Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil) to the San Matías Gulf, (Patagonia, Argentina). H. estellinensis is almost certainly extinct, but was endemic to a hypersaline spring in the Texas Panhandle, 500 mi (800 km) from the sea. Populations of Hemigrapsus sanguineus have been introduced from the species' native range in East Asia to several places, and now range along the Atlantic coast of North American from Portland, Maine to North Carolina, along the West European coast from northern Spain to Denmark, and in the northern Adriatic Sea and northern Black Sea. H. takanoi is native to East Asia, but has been introduced to western Europe, now extending from northern Spain to Denmark, including the westernmost Baltic Sea area. Fifteen species are currently recognised: