| [[Chinese
Mitten Crab]] |
| Scientific Name: Eriocheir sinensis |
| Physical Appearance:
the main features of the mitten crab are dense patches of
hairs on white-tipped claws of larger juveniles and adults. These
patches of hairs give it the name "mitten." The claws are
equal in size. The shell (carapace) has four spines on either side
and is about 3 inches (80 mm) wide. The legs are usually twice as
long as the shell. |
| Growth: Matures in 2 to 3 years, though it depends on temperature |
| Distribution: Normally the Chinese Mitten Crab is found in coastal rivers and estuaries of the Yellow Sea in Korea and China, but it is now found on the west coast of the U.S. in the San Francisco Bay/Delta watershed in California. It is illegal to import eggs or live specimens, or possess any species of mitten crab to the United States. |
| Diet: Omnivores · Main food source: juveniles eat vegetation, but as they grow they prey upon small invertebrates, including worms and clams. They often take fishing bait from the hook, such as ghost shrimp and shad. |
| Reproduction: Mitten crabs reach sexual maturity during their fourth or fifth year. Mating and fertilization occur in late fall or winter. The mitten crab is a "catadromous" species, in that adults reproduce downstream in brackish waters of estuaries (including the Suisun Marsh) and then rear their young in freshwater. The females carry 250,000 to 1 million eggs until hatching, and then both sexes die after reproduction. After the eggs hatch the crab lives for about 1-2 months as "planktonic larvae," living in the brackish estuaries. In late spring they migrate to freshwater. |
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Extra
Facts: |
Other great websites about the Chinese Mitten Crab:
Chinese Mitten Crab, Washington Sea Grant Program, http://www.wsg.washington.edu/outreach/mas/nis/mittencrab.html
Photo from "The Chinese Mitten Crab", Natural History Museum, London, England http://www.nhm.ac.uk/zoology/crab/