"Emerita" is adept at burrowing, and is capable of burying itself completely in 1.5 seconds. Unlike mud shrimp, "Emerita" burrows tail-first into the sand, using the pereiopods to scrape the sand from underneath its body. During this action, the carapace is pressed into the sand as anchorage for the digging limbs. The digging requires the sand to be by wave action, and "Emerita" must bury itself in the correct orientation before the wave has passed to be safe from predators. (Also see Fluidization.)