Common swimming crab
| Common swimming crab | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Common swimming crab ( Liocarcinus holsatus ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Liocarcinus holsatus | ||||||||||||
| ( Fabricius , 1798) |
The common swimming crab ( Liocarcinus holsatus ) is a species of swimming crab found in the English Channel , the North Sea and the Kattegat .
features
The brownish-gray, green-mottled carapace (back armor) of the common swimming crab is usually 30 mm long (up to 37 mm) and up to about 38 mm wide. It is roughly pentagonal with five teeth on the front edge on each side. The first of the five pairs of legs forms pointed scissor feet, the last, fifth pair of legs has a flattened and widened end link.
Occurrence
The common swimming crab lives on sandy, shill and rocky bottoms in the intertidal zone and deeper in the north-east Atlantic , the English Channel , the North Sea and the Kattegat . The species is particularly common on the coasts of the Netherlands and Belgium , where it can wash up in large quantities.
Way of life, individual development
With the help of the last pair of legs, which have been converted into rowing feet, the common swimming crab can swim actively or rise up in the water column. It hunts for mollusks , worms , shrimp and small fish . However, it often becomes prey for cod , gurnards or rays itself .
In the course of its development, the common swimming crab goes through five free-swimming larval stages ( Zoea IV) and one stage of development that extends to the ground (megalopa) before it molts into the actual young crab.
literature
- Klaus Janke, Bruno P. Kremer: Dune, Beach and Wadden Sea . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co., 2006, ISBN 978-3-440-10806-2 , p. 323
Individual evidence
- ^ PJ Hayward: Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-19-854054-0 , p. 456.
Web links
- Liocarcinus holsatus at World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)