Aratus pisonii
Dona Flor, the great cook created by Jorge Amado in his novel Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, knew that the moqueca (fish stew) made with mangrove tree crab should be wrapped in banana leaves after cooked – and that’s how the dish is still sold in present days at some acarajé tents scattered all over Salvador and at Mangue Seco beach. Found in abundance in the Northeast and Southeast coastal mangroves, the crustacean can be also fried, added to broths and served shredded in Casquinhas (Brazilian crab cakes served on a shell). On the border of Bahia and Sergipe, some communities are dedicated to harvesting mangrove tree crab, which hinds behind the branches and trunks of trees or in holes dug in the sand. To obtain 2 pounds of meat you need about 100 animals.
