Scorpion spider crab
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).[1] It is found along the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean from Norway to South Africa, and also in the Mediterranean Sea.[1]
| Scorpion spider crab | |
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| Species: | I. dorsettensis |
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| Inachus dorsettensis (Pennant, 1777) | |
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.[1] I. dorsettensis resembles the closely related species Inachus phalangium, but has more prominent spines on the carapace.[1] They molt, with the intermolting period being shorter the warmer the water they reside in is.[2]
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.
- 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.
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