Chinese mitten crab

Eriocheir sinensis · The Chinese mitten crab is a medium-sized burrowing crab with furry, mitten-like claws, native to rivers and coasts of East Asia.

Also called Shanghai hairy crab.

Chinese mitten crab
Photo: Peter van der Sluijs, CC BY-SA 4.0
Chinese mitten crab
Photo: user:Vassil, CC BY-SA 4.0
Chinese mitten crab
Photo: This image is created by user B. Schoenmakers at Waarneming.nl, a source of nature observations in the Netherlands., CC BY 3.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassMalacostraca
OrderDecapoda
FamilyVarunidae
GenusEriocheir
SpeciesEriocheir sinensis

Where it lives

Rivers and estuaries from Korea to Fujian; invasive in Europe and North America.

Fun facts

  • Chinese mitten crabs live mostly in fresh water but travel to the sea to breed.
  • Each mitten crab breeds only once in its life, and afterward it has very little energy and begins to waste away.
  • In the Yangtze River, mitten crabs have been recorded up to 1,400 km upstream.
  • Mitten crabs have been known to take up residence in swimming pools.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).