Heikegani: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the heikegani lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Heikeopsis japonica
Group	Crabs, lobsters & shrimps
Found in	1 country
Continents	Asia
Class	Crustacean
Order	Decapoda
Family	Dorippidae

Where does the heikegani live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the heikegani in 1 country or territory across Asia.

China

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the heikegani?

The heikegani (Heikeopsis japonica) is a crustacean in the order Decapoda and the family Dorippidae, genus Heikeopsis. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the heikegani

Heikegani (平家蟹, ヘイケガニ; Literal meaning: Heike Crab, Heikeopsis japonica) is a species of crab native to Japan, with a shell that bears a pattern resembling a human face – an example of the phenomenon of pareidolia – which is interpreted to be the face of an angry samurai, hence the nickname samurai crab. The crabs are named after the once powerful Taira clan which dominated medieval Japan, commonly known as the Heike. It is believed that these crabs are reincarnations of the Heike warriors defeated at the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura as told in The Tale of the Heike. While the crabs are edible, they are not eaten by most Japanese.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Heikegani (revision 1377775390), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1594629 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).