| Scorpion spider crab | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Inachidae |
| Genus: | Inachus |
| Species: | I. dorsettensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Inachus dorsettensis (Pennant, 1777) | |
Inachus dorsettensis, commonly known as the scorpion spider crab, is a species of crab generally found on loose substrates (stony bottoms to mud) from 6 metres (20 ft) depth down to about 100 m (330 ft).
Description
They are usually seen covered with sponge which they apply themselves. The carapace of a fully grown male is roughly 30 millimetres (1.2 in) long and slightly narrower than it is long.
Inachus dorsettensis resembles the closely related species Inachus phalangium, but has more prominent spines on the carapace. They molt, with the intermolting period being shorter the warmer the water they reside in is.
Distribution
Scorpion spider crab is found along the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean from Norway to South Africa, and also in the Mediterranean Sea.
References
- ^ P. J. Hayward; M. J. Isaac; P. Makings; J. Moyse; E. Naylor & G. Smaldon (1995). "Crustaceans". In P. J. Hayward & John Stanley Ryland (eds.). Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-west Europe. Oxford University Press. pp. 289–461. ISBN 978-0-19-854055-7.
- "When is the stone crab season?". Retrieved 2023-12-13.
- R.G. Hartnoll; A.D. Bryant (2001). Growth to maturity of juveniles of the spider crabs Hyas coarctatus Leach and Inachus dorsettensis. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(01)00303-3.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Inachus dorsettensis | |
| Cancer dorsettensis | |
 | This Eubrachyura article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |