Corystes Explained

Corystes cassivelaunus, the masked crab, helmet crab or sand crab,[1] is a burrowing crab of the North Atlantic and North Sea from Portugal to Norway, which also occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.[2] It may grow up to 4cm (02inches) long (carapace length).[1] The name "masked crab" derives from the patterns on the carapace which resemble a human face (a case of pareidolia), in a similar manner to heikegani.[3] It is the only species in the genus Corystes.[4]

C. cassivelaunus lives buried in sandy substrates, where it feeds on the infaunal invertebrates such as polychaete worms and bivalve molluscs.[1] It uses its two antennae to form a breathing tube that allows oxygenated water down into the substrate.[5] [6] The chelipeds of males are much longer than the body, while those of females are only about as long as the carapace.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: . Masked crab (Corystes cassivelaunus) . November 14, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20041226200720/http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/invertebrates_marine/Corystes_cassivelaunus/more_info.html . 2004-12-26 . dead .
  2. Web site: Crabs of the Southern North Sea . Department Zeevisserij (Sea Fisheries Department) . October 8, 2001 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071218233250/http://www.dvz.be/Crabs/ . December 18, 2007 .
  3. Book: Webster's Dictionary

    . Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary . masked crab . 1913 . Webster's Dictionary . 2006-11-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110714123320/http://1913.mshaffer.com/d/search/_words.word,masked . 2011-07-14 . dead .

  4. Peter Davie & Michael Türkay . 2011 . Corystes Bosc, 1802 . 106877 . June 7, 2012.
  5. Web site: Helmkrab . Dutch . Waddenzee.nl . January 9, 2010.
  6. Web site: Masked crab, Corystes cassivelaunus . Sefton Coast.
  7. Web site: Corystes cassivelaunus . Macrobenthos of the North Sea: Crustacea . M. J. De Kluijver. & S. S. Ingalsuo . . January 9, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717025955/http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?menuentry=soorten&selected=beschrijving&id=184 . 2011-07-17 . dead .