Zuiderzeekrabbe
| Zuiderzeekrabbe | ||||||||||||
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Zuiderzeekrabbe |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rhithropanopeus harrisii | ||||||||||||
| ( Gould , 1841) |
The Zuiderzeekrabbe ( Rhithropanopeus harrisii ) is a crab originally native to the east coast of North America . It probably came to Europe through the ballast water of the ships or in the vegetation of ship hulls and is now also located in the Trave in Schleswig-Holstein, for example . This makes it one of the so-called neozoa .
The animals were first discovered in Europe in 1870 in the Zuiderzee (now the IJsselmeer and Markermeer in the Netherlands ). In 1936 this crab was sighted for the first time in Germany in the Kiel Canal and the Flemhuder See . The current area of distribution extends over the central and eastern Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Atlantic. It lives in shallow fresh, brackish and salt water on soft or sandy soils.
The Zuiderzeekrab is about 2.5 cm long, its special feature are the bright and differently sized claws. The crab is olive green to brownish and some specimens have dark spots on the shell. This has four round teeth on both sides at the front. The front edge is not serrated, but smooth.
Synonyms for the species are:
- Heteropanope tridentata Tesch , 1922
- Pilumnus harrisii Gould , 1841
- Pilumnus tridentatus Maitland , 1874
