Crabs of the British Isles explained
Around 65 species of crab occur in the waters of the British Isles.[1] All are marine, with the exception of the introduced Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, which occurs in fresh and brackish water. They range in size from the deep-water species Paromola cuvieri,[2] which can reach a claw span of,[3] to the pea crab, which is only 4mm wide and lives inside mussel shells.
Fisheries
Several species of wild crab are the subject of crab fisheries around the coasts of the British Isles. The most important are the brown crab or edible crab, Cancer pagurus (29,193 t), various swimming crabs (3,180 t), the spider crab Maja brachydactyla (1,565 t), the shore crab or green crab Carcinus maenas (553 t) and the velvet crab Necora puber (193 t). Around 77% of the catch is landed in the United Kingdom, 19% in Ireland, 4% in the Channel Islands, and 1% in the Isle of Man.
Species
62 species have been directly observed in the waters of the British Isles:[1]
- Dromiidae
- Homolidae
- Leucosiidae
- Ebalia cranchii Leach, 1817
- Ebalia granulosa H. Milne-Edwards, 1837
- Ebalia nux A. Milne-Edwards, 1883
- Ebalia tuberosa (Pennant, 1777)
- Ebalia tumefacta (Montagu, 1808)
- Majidae
- Oregoniidae
- Inachidae
- Achaeus cranchii Leach, 1817
- Inachus dorsettensis (Pennant, 1777)
- Inachus leptochirus Leach, 1817
- Inachus phalangium (Fabricius, 1775)
- Macropodia deflexa Forest, 1978
- Macropodia linaresi Forest & Zariquiey Alvarez, 1964
- Macropodia rostrata (Linnaeus, 1761)
- Macropoda tenuirostris (Leach, 1814)
- Epialtidae
- Pisa armata (Latreille, 1803)
- Pisa tetraodon (Pennant, 1777)
- Parthenopidae
- Parthenopides massena (Roux, 1830)
- Corystidae
- Atelecyclidae
- Thiidae
- Pirimelidae
- Cancridae
- Portunidae
- Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896
- Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Bathynectes longipes (Risso, 1816)
- Bathynectes maravigna (Prestandrea, 1839)
- Liocarcinus corrugatus (Pennant, 1777)
- Liocarcinus depurator (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Liocarcinus holsatus (Fabricius, 1798)
- Liocarcinus marmoreus (Leach, 1814)
- Liocarcinus navigator (Herbst, 1794)
- Liocarcinus pusillus (Leach, 1815)
- Liocarcinus zariquieyi Gordon, 1968
- Macropipus tuberculatus (Roux, 1830)
- Necora puber (Linnaeus, 1767)
- Polybius henslowii Leach, 1820
- Portumnus latipes (Pennant, 1777)
- Xaiva biguttata (Risso, 1816)
- Geryonidae
- Goneplacidae
- Xanthidae
- Monodaeus couchi (Couch, 1851)
- Xantho hydrophilus (Herbst, 1790)
- Xantho pilipes A. Milne-Edwards, 1867
- Panopeidae
- Pilumnoididae
- Pilumnidae
- Grapsidae
- Varunidae
- Pinnotheridae
Three deep-water species have also been recorded near the British Isles, and are likely to occur in the area. These are:[1]
- Cymonomus granulatus (Norman in Wyville Thomson, 1873) (Cymonomidae)
- Dorhynchus thomsoni Wyville Thomson, 1873 (Inachidae)
- Rochinia carpenteri (Wyville Thomson, 1873) (Epialtidae)
Notes and References
- Book: J. M. C. Holmes . M. J. Costello . D. W. Connor . amp . 1997 . Crustacea . 142–209 . Christine M. Howson . Bernard E. Picton . The Species Directory of the Marine Fauna and Flora of the British Isles and Surrounding Seas . . 978-0-948150-06-7 .
- News: Britain's biggest crab emerges from the deep . Michael McCarthy . . April 22, 2010 . February 12, 2012.
- Mike Thurston . 1987 . Record breaking crab is not such a strange catch . . 114 . 1554 . 24 .
