Malacostraca |
Decapoda |
Cancridae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic; depth range 0 - 800 m (Ref. 367). Subtropical, preferred 11°C (Ref. 107945); 59°N - 20°N, 85°W - 52°W
Western Atlantic: from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada to Dry Tortugas, Florida and Cuba.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 8.8  range ? - ? cm Max length : 16.0 cm CW male/unsexed; (Ref. 101412); max. published weight: 0.00 g
Carapace approximately 2/3 as long as wide, surface coarsely granulate; front (excluding inner orbital angles) with 3 teeth, middle one exceeding others and depressed (flattened dorsoventrally); anterolateral margins divided into 9 quadrangular lobes or teeth with margins minutely denticulate; notches between teeth continued on carapace as short, closed fissures. Pincers stout, nearly as long as second legs, carpus and hand with strong granulose rugae, upper margin of pincers denticulate, carpus with sharp inner dorsal spine. Color: red dorsally, yellow ventrally; back with 2 curved lines of yellowish spots and behind middle, a figure somewhat resembling letter H; legs mottled and reticulated with yellow and red, more or less purplish.
Minimum depth from Ref. 97531. Lives in deep water (Ref. 106868). Occurs from the intertidal zone among rocks to 800 m (Ref. 367). Common in shallow subtidal zone during summer (Ref. 106868). Small to medium-sized individuals are found near shore seasonally (especially in the south), while larger ones only occur in deeper water (Ref. 367). Moves from subtidal into low intertidal with the tide (Ref. 106868). Found in rocky bottom in association with Homarus americanus. Also on rubble and soft substrate (Ref. 97531). Feeds mainly on mollusks, echinoderms, and other invertebrates (Ref. 367). Preyed upon by gulls (Ref. 106868).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the order Decapoda are mostly gonochoric. Mating behavior: Precopulatory courtship ritual is common (through olfactory and tactile cues); usually indirect sperm transfer.
Tavares, M. 2003. (Ref. 367)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings | FishSource | Sea Around Us
Tools
More information
Human RelatedAquaculture profiles
Stamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 1.6 - 17.9, mean 6.4 (based on 149 cells).
Vulnerability
Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients : Calcium = 109 [35, 184] mg/100g; Iron = 1.59 [1.21, 1.97] mg/100g; Protein = 20.2 [19.2, 21.3] %; Omega3 = 0.285 [0.185, 0.386] g/100g; Selenium = 48.3 [-31.7, 128.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 1.79 [1.17, 2.40] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.