Carcinus maenas (green shore crab)
Home Organisms Description Gallery
Phylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Portunidae
A good demonstration of why common names are not particularly useful C.maenas can be green but is also found in various other shades of brown and orange. It is believed that the greener shades indicate a crab that has recently moulted and darker brown and orange shades indicate an individual that has not moulted for some time. Not only can the individuals be various colours but the carapace can have a variety of patterns. C.maenas is an aggressive creature and will assume a posture with raised and open claws to all who approach too close. This crab is one of the more commonly found along the coast and as it has a tolerance for quite low salinities can be found high on the shore, in estuaries and rock pools and the shallow sublittoral.
(This will open in a new page.)