Carcinus maenas ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 235

publication ID	11755334
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5255316
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/C5657B52-FF76-B3F9-44D1-FBCECD700C0D
treatment provided by	Felipe (2021-08-24 08:22:12, last updated by Plazi 2023-11-04 15:45:02)
scientific name	Carcinus maenas ( Linnaeus, 1758 )
status

Treatment

Carcinus maenas ( Linnaeus, 1758) View in CoL

( Fig. 55B)

Cancer maenas Linnaeus, 1758: 627 View Cited Treatment .

Carcinides maenas . — Rathbun 1930: 15, fig. 4.

Carcinus maenas View in CoL . — Ingle 1980: 100, figs. 44, 44a, pl. 12b (extensive synonymy).— Williams 1984: 356, fig. 289. — Ricketts et al. 1985: 296, fig. 231. — Jensen 1995: 33, fig. 49. — Kuris et al. 2007: 642.

Diagnosis. Carapace about 0.75 times as long as broad. Front with 3 broad teeth, anterolateral margin with 5 strong teeth. Third maxilliped with anteroexternal angle not produced. Chelipeds slightly unequal, nearly smooth except for 2 ridges on upper surface of hand; merus short, carpus with broad internal tooth or angle. Pereopods 2–5 smooth, unarmed, dactyl of pereopod 5 lance-shaped, not forming swimming paddle. Male, female carapace length to 60 mm.

Color in life. Carapace dark green, bluish to reddish, sometimes China white; legs varying to yellowish white to tile white or violet; juveniles often more colorful, polymorphic in pigmentation than adults. Williams (1984: 356) gave a lengthy description of the cold patterns.

Habitat and depth. Bays, tide pools; among rocks, oysters, gravel or shells, intertidal to 200 m, but usually shallow. Tolerant of low salinity.

Range. Northumberland Strait to Virginia in North America; Kvaenangen, Norway , Baltic Sea and North Sea to Mauritania . Introduced into San Francisco Bay , California and Willapa Bay, Washington; also Australia, Burma , Red Sea , Madagascar, India , and Ceylon. Type locality Marstrand north of Goteborg, west coast of Sweden .

Remarks. Hardy and a prolific breeder, the green crab easily can be spread by human activity. It is a predator on clams and oysters, and thus is considered a pest by fishermen. The range of this species is spreading rapidly.

References

Ingle, R. (1980) British Crabs. British Museum (Natural History), London, 222 pp.

Jensen, G. C. (1995) Pacific Coast Crabs and Shrimps. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California, 87 pp.

Kuris, A. M., Sadeghian, P. & Carlton, J. T. (2007) Keys to Decapod Crustacea. In: Carlton, J. T. (Ed.) The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates Central California to Oregon. University of California Press, Berkeley, 4 th ed., pp. 636 - 656.

Linnaeus, C. (1758) Systema Naturae. Holmiae, Ed. 10, Vol. 1, 1 - 824.

Rathbun, M. J. (1930) The cancroid crabs of America of the families Euryalidae, Portunidae, Atelecyclidae, Cancridae and Xanthidae. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, 152, 1 - 593.

Ricketts, E. F., Calvin, J., Hedgpeth, J. W. & Phillips, D. W. (1985) Between Pacific Tides. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 5 th ed., 652 pp.

Williams, A. B. (1984) Shrimps, Lobsters, and Crabs of the Atlantic Coast of the Eastern United States, Maine to Florida. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C., 550 pp.