Biodiversity & Conservation

Chinese mitten crab - Eriocheir sinensis

Eriocheir sinensis

Image Phil Crabb - Eriocheir sinensis collected 20 August 1992. Image width ca 30 cm.
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Distribution map

Eriocheir sinensis 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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Eriocheir sinensis is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Arthropoda Arthropods, joint-legged animals, e.g. insects, crustaceans & spiders
Class Malacostraca Crabs, lobsters, sand hoppers and sea slaters
Authority H Milne-Edwards, 1854
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Common in the River Thames and River Medway, with isolated recores from River Tyne (Newcastle), the River Tamar (near Plymouth) and recently Dungeness, Kent. Also recorded from Southfields Reservoir near Castleford, Yorkshire.
Habitat information icon Habitat information In rivers and lakes, burrowing into sediment banks. Adults migrate to estuary mouths to breed and the females may over-winter in deep, fully saline water.
Text page icon Description Eriocheir sinensis is a large crab with a maximum carapace length of 56 mm. The carapace is quite square in outline, narrowing towards the front and has four lateral teeth on each side. The carapace is olive green in colour, the legs paler. The most obvious distinguishing feature of Eriocheir sinensis is the dense mat of hair on the claws. The leading edges of the legs are also very hairy.
Identifying features
  • Chelae covered in a mat of fine hair.
  • Carapace with four lateral sharp teeth.
  • Second to fifth walking legs (pereiopods) stout and flattened.
  • Longest segment of legs (the merus) bears a distinct distal spine.
Additional information icon Additional information A native of China introduced into Germany in 1912 now dispersed widely in NE Europe (see Clarke, 2005). This crab may be found in isolated bodies of freshwater as it will cross dry land to colonize new areas. Scientific name Eriocheir sinensis is derived from the Greek and means wool hand of the Chinese, hence the vernacular or common name the Chinese mitten crab (Clarke, 2005). For further information see Marine Aliens pages.

This review can be cited as follows:

Ken Neal 2005. Eriocheir sinensis. Chinese mitten crab. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 22/05/2012]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3283>