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Dieren en planten

Decapods   Crabs   Flying Crab   Velvet Swimming Crab   East Asian shore crab   Shore Crab   Pennant's swimming crab   Long-legged spider crab   Great spider crab   

Velvet swimming crab

size:

up to 10 centimeters wide

color:

brown-green, blue tints on the claws and legs, dark stripe on the swimming legs, red eyes

age:

6 to 10 years

food:

small bottom-dwelling animals, algae, seaweed

enemies:

gulls, other bird species, some fish

reproduction:

sexual

  • Dut: Fluwelen zwemkrab
  • Lat: Neocora puber
  • Eng: Velvet swimming crab (devil crab)
  • Ger: Samtkrabbe, Teufelskrabbe
  • Dan: Svømmekrabbe
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Velvet swimming crab, Ecomare

Velvet swimming crab

This crab looks like it is covered in a layer of velvet. In reality, this layer is made up of short hairs covered in mud particles. You may think with a name like velvet swimming crab that it is petable, but it can be extremely aggressive. It pinches hard and takes on a threatening posture when disrupted. Some crabs are totally black and have red eyes, which is why it is sometimes called a devil crab. Like other swimming crabs, the back legs are flattened and used for swimming. Velvet swimming crabs are considered a delicacy in France.

  • Distribution and habitat

    Velvet swimming crabs live in rocky bottoms in intertidal zones and seas down to around 70 centimeters deep. They like sheltered places and are quite rare in the North Sea.