Malacostraca |
Decapoda |
Carcinidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic; brackish; depth range 0 - 200 m (Ref. 2779), usually 0 - 6 m (Ref. 114208). Subtropical; -1°C - 22°C (Ref. 114208), preferred 12°C (Ref. 107945); 70°N - 22°N, 20°W - 19°E (Ref. 114232)
Eastern Atlantic: From Great Britain north to Iceland, the North Sea and Norway, south to Portugal and Spain to Mauritania. Introduced and established in North America, South Africa (Cape Town), and Australia. Introduced but not established in Panama, Brazil, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Myanmar, Japan and Hawaii. Subtropical to polar.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 1 - 4.5 cm Max length : 6.0 cm CL male/unsexed; (Ref. 435); common length : 4.0 cm CL male/unsexed; (Ref. 435); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 128193)
Usually found in eelgrass beds (Ref. 128717). Maximum carapace width: 7.7 cm; commonly 5 cm wide. Inhabits shallow water from the intertidal area down to 200 m. Lives under stones, on muddy or muddy sand bottoms, or hard bottom, etc. Also inhabits brackish lagoons (Ref. 2779), and eelgrass beds (Ref. 128717).
Members of the order Decapoda are mostly gonochoric. Mating behavior: Precopulatory courtship ritual is common (through olfactory and tactile cues); usually indirect sperm transfer (Ref. 833). Berried females migrate from littoral areas to more saline and deeper water (8-10 m) until hatching of eggs; afterwhich, they go back to moult and copulate (Ref. 128197). Larger females can breed twice or thrice annually (Ref. 128203).
Fischer, W., G. Bianchi and W.B. Scott (eds.) 1981 True Crabs. 6: pag.var. In FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Eastern Central Atlantic (fishing areas 34, 47; in part). Canada Funds-in-Trust. Ottawa, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, by arrangement with the Food and AgriculturesOrganization of the United Nations, 1-7: pag.var. (Ref. 435)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings | FishSource | Sea Around Us
Tools
More information
PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 7 - 12.7, mean 9.6 (based on 453 cells).
Fishing Vulnerability
Low to moderate vulnerability (28 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability
Low to moderate vulnerability (27 of 100).
Nutrients : Calcium = 109 [35, 184] mg/100g; Iron = 1.59 [1.21, 1.97] mg/100g; Protein = 20.2 [19.2, 21.3] %; Omega3 = 0.285 [0.185, 0.386] g/100g; Selenium = 48.3 [-31.7, 128.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 1.79 [1.17, 2.40] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.
