Rathbun, 1896

Description:
Carapace twice as broad as wide, with 5 - 9 teeth on anterolateral edge, broadest point lies at last tooth, wich is placed well aside. 5th pair of legs is used for swimming with a broad paddle-like ending. This American species has recently spread along European coastal waters. It is easily recognized by its blue walking legs and red, white and blue coloured chelae, and its agressive behaviour.

Size:

Habitat:
Fresh to brackish water but returns to the sea to breed.

Distribution:
Mediterranean, France, Britain, The Netherlands.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Crustacea
Subclass Malacostraca
Superorder Eucarida
Order Decapoda
Suborder Pleocyemata
Infraorder Brachyura
Family Portunidae
Subfamily Portuninae
Genus Callinectes
Species sapidus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896

Scientific synonyms and common names

Lupa hastata Say, 1817 (not Cancer hastata Linnaeus, 1767)
Portunus diacantha Latreille, 1825

Moyse, J., & G. Smaldon, 1990. Crustacea III: Malacostraca Eucarida. In: The Marine Fauna of the British Isles and North-West Europe (eds. Hayward and Ryland, 1990). Clarendon Press, Oxford.

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