Appearance
Dardanus megistos can reach a body length of about 20 cm (7.9 in). These large crabs have a bright red body with small white eyespots surrounded by black. Their bodies are covered with long erect coarse hairs of a dark red color. They have a pair of long white primary antennae or antennules, a pair of secondary antennae, stalked green brown eyes and three pairs of mouth appendages. The stalks of the eyes are reddish with a basal white spot. The soft, asymmetrical abdomen is spiral-shaped, useful in keeping in the shell, with a five-piece tail (telson and uropods). Like all decapod crustaceans, they have ten legs. The first pair of legs carries the pincers ( chelipeds). The left plier is bigger than the right one.