Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Female crabs can be distinguished from males by a broad tail flap on their undersides, which are used for protecting their eggs when they are gravid. The slender crab carapace is usually olive brown, and its legs vary from yellowish brown to purple. M. gracilis only grows to a width of about 3.5 inches (9 cm) and resembles a juvenile M. magister.
Crabs vary in size from the pea crab, a few millimeters wide, to the Japanese spider crab, with a leg span up to 4 m (13 ft). [6] Several other groups of crustaceans with similar appearances – such as king crabs and porcelain crabs – are not true crabs, but have evolved features similar to true crabs through a process known as carcinisation .
Ovalipes ocellatus, known as the lady crab, is a species of crab from eastern North America. [1] Other names for it include the leopard crab or Atlantic leopard crab due to the leopard-like rosette patterns on its shell, the calico crab (not to be confused with Hepatus epheliticus ), or ocellated crab . [ 3 ]
Female crabs are generally smaller than males [2] [5] and molt in the winter. [6] Egg production and reproduction require a lot of energy which is why females tend to be smaller than males. [ 8 ] [ 6 ] Differences in carapace width and claw size can be used to determine males from females.
The fiddler crab or calling crab can be one of the hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae. [2] These crabs are well known for their extreme sexual dimorphism, where the male crabs have a major claw significantly larger than their minor claw, whilst females claws are both the same size. [3]
Ovalipes catharus, commonly known as the paddle crab, [a] swimming crab, [b] or, in Māori, pāpaka, [8] is a species of crab in the family Ovalipidae. [ 4 ] [ 9 ] It is found in shallow, sandy-bottomed waters around the coasts of New Zealand , the Chatham Islands , and uncommonly in southern Australia .
In the winter, a female crab will bury herself in the sand and become inactive in order to protect her eggs. [3] Eggs typically hatch in the spring, although exact time varies with location. [3] [9] Young crabs are free-swimming after hatching and are diel vertical migrators that can be found at depths up to 80 ft (24 m) during the day. [9]
The name "ghost crab" derives from their nocturnality and their generally pale coloration. [1] [2] They are also sometimes called sand crabs, though the name refers to various other crabs that do not belong to the subfamily. Characteristics of the subfamily include one claw being larger than the other, thick and elongated eyestalks, and a box ...