Sponge Crab

As an arthropod, D. personata is bilaterally symmetrical. The body is composed of a head, which contains the cephalon, and an elongated trunk, which consists of a thorax and abdomen. From the cephalon, there are two pairs of antennae and a mandible placed anteriorly, in addition to two pairs of maxillae positioned laterally. The trunk sprouts five pairs of walking legs, which are segmented medially to laterally: coxa, basis, ischium, merus, carpus, manus, and dactyl. The coxa, basis, ischium are smaller aspects that serve to attach the jointed limb to the crab's body.

Dromia personata is a gonochoric species. Courtship prior to copulation is commonly practiced through visual, olfactory, or tactile means. Sperm can only be transferred directly from the male's gonopod into the ovigerous female after a molting period, when her exoskeleton has not hardened yet. Females store eggs in a pleopod and can also house sperm for up to nine months.

During development, the blastula forms three tissue layers: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. The mesoderm tissue produces the coelom, which gives rise to the body cavity and specialized tissues and organs. Fertilized eggs hatch into larvae. These undergo four zoeal stages, followed by a megalopal stage, and finally an adult stage. With each molting period between these three phases, the crab gains new appendages while limbs that were formerly established become more specialized.