Stone Crab

English name: Charybdis (Charybdis) natator

Common name: Shanyong swimming crab

Order: Portunidae

Distribution and season:

Distributed in China (Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan, China), Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Malay Archipelago, Thailand, India, Madagascar and the east coast of Africa. Inhabits sandy or sandy-mud bottoms.

Description:

The carapace is convex, its surface densely covered with fine hairs, and the carapace surface near the base of the anterolateral teeth bears granules; the posterior part of the carapace has granular ridges of varying length; the front bears 6 teeth, the middle 4 teeth similar in size with blunt anterior margins; the anterolateral margin bears 6 teeth, the first tooth blunt at its tip, the second to fourth teeth similar in size with sharp tips, the last tooth spine-shaped; both the posterior margin and the posterolateral margins bear granular ridges. The chelipeds are stout and unequal, with flat granules on the surface of the carpus and palm; the dorsal surface of the palm bears 5 spines, and the granules on the inner and outer surfaces are arranged in longitudinal rows.

Body color:

The carapace is brown with red mottling, and the chelipeds are roughly bright red.

Specimen body length:

Male carapace length 69.0 mm, carapace width 103.0 mm.