Biodiversity & Conservation

Harbour crab - Liocarcinus depurator - General information

Liocarcinus depurator

Image Keith Hiscock - Dorsal view of male and female. Image width ca 25 cm.
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Distribution map

Liocarcinus depurator recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Liocarcinus depurator is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Jacqueline Hill Text page icon Refereed by: This information is not refereed.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Arthropoda Arthropods, joint-legged animals, e.g. insects, crustaceans & spiders
Class Malacostraca Crabs, lobsters, sand hoppers and sea slaters
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland All British and Irish coasts.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Found on the lower shore and sublittoral on fine, muddy sand and gravel.
Text page icon Description The carapace of Liocarcinus depurator is wider than long, about 51 mm wide and 40 mm long. The species is immediately recognised by the violet-tinted paddle of the fifth leg in larger crabs. The rest of the body is pale reddish-brown with transverse rows of hairs on the carapace, most conspicuous towards the rear.

This review can be cited as follows:

Jacqueline Hill 2008. Liocarcinus depurator. Harbour crab. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 25/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3697>