Cancer pagurus

File:Boi.crab4.jpg and chelae of a female]]

File:Cancer pagurus - Carantec-3.jpg

The carapace of C. pagurus adults is a reddish-brown colour, while in young specimens it is purple-brown. It occasionally bears white patches, and is shaped along the front edge into nine rounded lobes, resembling a pie crust. Males typically have a carapace {{convert|60|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long, and females {{convert|98|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long, although they may reach up to {{convert|150|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long in exceptional cases. Carapace width is typically {{convert|150|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}}, or exceptionally up to {{convert|250|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2872 |title=Edible crab – Cancer pagurus |publisher=Marine Life Information Network |author1=Ken Neal |author2=Emily Wilson |year=2008}} A fold of the carapace extends ventrally to constitute a branchial chamber where the gills lie.{{cite book |author=Ray W. Ingle |year=1997 |title=Crayfishes, lobsters, and crabs of Europe: an illustrated guide to common and traded species |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-412-71060-5 |pages=2–10 |chapter=Structure and function |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x-qVGbTAOiEC&pg=PA3}}

File:Cancer pagurus - Crabe dormeur - Tourteau - 004.jpg

The first pereiopod is modified into a strong cheliped (claw-bearing leg); the claw's fingers, the dactylus and propodus, are black at the tips. The other pereiopods are covered with rows of short stiff setae; the dactylus of each is black towards the tip, and ends in a sharp point.

From the front, the antennae and antennules are visible. Beside these, the orbits are where the eyes are situated. The mouthparts comprise three pairs of maxillipeds, behind which are a pair of maxillae, a pair of maxillules, and finally the mandibles.

Reproduction occurs in winter; the male stands over the female and forms a cage with his legs protecting her while she moults. Internal fertilisation takes place before the hardening of the new carapace, with the aid of two abdominal appendages (gonopods). After mating, the female retreats to a pit on the sea floor to lay her eggs. Between 250,000 and 3,000,000 fertilised eggs{{cite web |url=http://www.marlin.ac.uk/biotic/browse.php?sp=4129 |title=Species Information for Cancer pagurus |work=Biological Traits Information Catalogue |publisher=Marine Life Information Network |access-date=August 11, 2010}} are held under the female's abdomen up to eight months until they hatch.

File:Cancer pagurus (eggs).jpg

The first developmental stage after hatching is a planktonic larva (1 mm) called the zoea that develops into a postlarva (megalopa), and finally a juvenile.{{cite journal |author1=D. R. Eaton |author2=J. Brown |author3=J. T. Addison |author4=S. P. Milligana |author5=L. J. Fernand |year=2003 |title=Edible crab (Cancer pagurus) larvae surveys off the east coast of England: implications for stock structure |journal=Fisheries Research |volume=65 |issue=1–3: Life Histories, Assessment and Management of Crustacean Fisheries |pages=191–199 |editor1=Oliver Tully |editor2=Juan Freire |editor3=Julian T. Addison |doi=10.1016/j.fishres.2003.09.036}} The first juvenile stage is characterised by a well-developed abdomen, which in time becomes reduced in size and folded under the sternum. Juveniles settle to the sea floor in the intertidal zone, where they stay until they reach a carapace width of {{convert|60|–|70|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}}, and then migrate to deeper water. The growth rate in males slows from an increase in carapace width of 10 mm per year before it is 8 years old, to 2 mm per year thereafter. Females grow at about half the rate of males, probably due to the energetic demands of egg laying. Sexual maturity is reached at a carapace width of {{convert|127|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} in females, and {{convert|110|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} in males. Longevity is typically 25–30 years, although exceptional individuals may live up to 100 years.{{cite web |url=http://www.fishonline.org/fish/crab-brown-or-edible-214 |title=Edible crab, Cancer pagurus |work=Fishonline |publisher=Marine Conservation Society |access-date=August 23, 2010}}

File:Blue mussel clump.jpg, Mytilus edulis, is a favourite food of C. pagurus.]]

C. pagurus is abundant throughout the northeast Atlantic as far as Norway in the north and North Africa in the south, on mixed coarse grounds, mud, and sand from the shallow sublittoral to depths around {{convert|100|m|ft fathom|sigfig=1|abbr=on}}. It is frequently found inhabiting cracks and holes in rocks, but occasionally also in open areas. Smaller specimens may be found under rocks in the littoral zone.{{cite web |url=http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/invertebrates_marine/Cancer_pagurus/more_info.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041226195347/http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/invertebrates_marine/Cancer_pagurus/more_info.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 26, 2004 |title=Edible crab (Cancer pagurus) |publisher=ARKive |access-date=September 16, 2010}} Unconfirmed reports suggest that C. pagurus may also occur in the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea.

Adults of C. pagurus are nocturnal, hiding buried in the substrate during the day, but foraging at night up to {{convert|50|m|ft|round=50|abbr=on}} from their hideouts.{{cite journal |title=Basic movement pattern and chemo-oriented search towards baited pots in edible crab (Cancer pagurus L.) |author1=K. Skajaa |author2=A. Ferno |author3=S. Lokkeborg |author4=E. K. Haugland |journal=Hydrobiologia |volume=371–372 |issue=Advances in Invertebrates and Fish Telemetry |pages=143–153 |year=1998 |doi=10.1023/A:1017047806464 |s2cid=22768873 |editor=J.-P. Lagardère, M.-L. Béhout Anras G. Claireaux}} Their diet includes a variety of crustaceans (including the crabs Carcinus maenas and Pilumnus hirtellus, the porcelain crabs Porcellana platycheles and Pisidia longicornis, and the squat lobster Galathea squamifera) and molluscs (including the gastropods Nucella lapillus and Littorina littorea, and the bivalves Ensis, Mytilus edulis, Cerastoderma edule, Ostrea edulis, and Lutraria lutraria). It may stalk or ambush motile prey, and may dig large pits to reach buried molluscs. The main predator of C. pagurus is the octopus, which even attacks them inside the crab pots that fishermen use to trap them.{{cite book |author1=Maurice Burton |author2=Robert Burton |year=2002 |title=International Wildlife Encyclopedia |edition=3rd |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-7266-7 |chapter=Edible crab |pages=741–742 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0gsPc5lk7_UC&pg=PA741}}

Compared to other commercially important crab species, relatively little is known about diseases of C. pagurus.{{cite journal |author=Grant D. Stentiford |year=2008 |title=Diseases of the European edible crab (Cancer pagurus): a review |journal=ICES Journal of Marine Science |volume=65 |issue=9 |pages=1578–1592 |doi=10.1093/icesjms/fsn134|doi-access=free }} Its parasites include viruses, such as the white spot syndrome virus, various bacteria that cause dark lesions on the exoskeleton, and Hematodinium-like dinoflagellates that cause "pink crab disease". Other microscopic pathogens include fungi, microsporidians, paramyxeans, and ciliates. C. pagurus is also targeted by metazoan parasites, including trematodes and parasitic barnacles. A number of sessile animals occasionally settle as epibionts on the exoskeleton of C. pagurus, including barnacles, sea anemones, serpulid polychaetes such as Janua pagenstecheri, bryozoans, and saddle oysters.

File:Lindisfarne Lobster Pots.JPG, North Sea]]

C. pagurus is heavily exploited commercially throughout its range, being the most commercially important crab species in Western Europe. The crabs are caught using crab pots (similar to lobster pots), also known as creels, which are placed offshore and baited. The catch of C. pagurus has increased steadily, rising from 26,000 tonnes in 1978 to 60,000 t in 2007, of which more than 70% was caught around the British Isles. The fishery is widely dispersed around the British and Irish coasts, and C. pagurus is thought to be overfished across much of this area. Most of the edible crabs caught by the British fleet are exported live for sale in France and Spain.{{cite web |url=http://www.seafish.org/pdf.pl?file=seafish/Documents/SeafishResponsibleSourcingGuide_CrabsLobsters.pdf |title=Responsible Sourcing Guide: Crabs & Lobsters |publisher=Sea Fish Industry Authority |date=August 2, 2009}}

A number of legal restrictions apply to the catching of C. pagurus. Catching "berried" crabs (females carrying eggs) is illegal, but since ovigerous females remain in pits dug in the sediment and do not feed, fishing pressure does not affect the supply of larvae. Minimum landing sizes (MLSs) for C. pagurus are set by both the European Union technical regulations and by the UK government.{{cite book |title=Future Management of Brown Crab in the UK and Ireland (IPF_D123) |series=Seafish Report No. SR633 |publisher=Sea Fish Industry Authority |author=Nautilus Consultants |date=December 2009 |isbn=978-1-906634-36-0 |url=http://www.seafish.org/pdf.pl?file=seafish/Documents/SR633_NautilusBrownCrabManagement_D123_Final.pdf }} Different minimum sizes are employed in different geographical areas, to reflect differences in the crab's growth rate across its range. In particular, the "Cromer crab" fishery along the coasts of Suffolk, Norfolk and Lincolnshire is subject to an MLS of {{convert|115|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}}, rather than the {{convert|140|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} MLS in most of the species' range. An intermediate value of {{convert|130|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} is used in the rest of the North Sea between the 56°N and the Essex–Kent border, and in the Irish Sea south of 55°N. Around Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly, the MLS for males is different ({{convert|160|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on|disp=or}}) from females ({{convert|140|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on|disp=or}}). The Norwegian catch is 8,500 tons annually, compared to 20,000 tons in the United Kingdom, 13,000 tons in Ireland, 8,500 tons in France, and a total 45,000 tons globally.{{cite web |title=Taskekrabbe |trans-title=Edible crab |language=no |url=http://www.imr.no/__data/page/8431/2.7_Taskekrabbe.pdf |author=Knut Sunnanå |publisher=Norwegian Institute of Marine Research }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Recent studies have shown that edible crabs are negatively affected by electromagnetic fields emitted from sub-sea power cables around offshore wind farms.{{Cite journal|date=2018-06-01|title=Understanding the effects of electromagnetic field emissions from Marine Renewable Energy Devices (MREDs) on the commercially important edible crab, Cancer pagurus (L.)|journal=Marine Pollution Bulletin|language=en|volume=131|issue=Pt A|pages=580–588|doi=10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.04.062|pmid=29886985|issn=0025-326X|last1=Scott|first1=Kevin|last2=Harsanyi|first2=Petra|last3=Lyndon|first3=Alastair R.|s2cid=47007844 }}

File:Knieper.jpg

Around one-third of the weight of an adult edible crab is meat, of which one-third is white meat from the claws (see declawing of crabs), and two-thirds is white and brown meat from the body.{{cite book |author1=Alan Davidson |author2=Tom Jaine |year=2006 |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-280681-9 |chapter=Common crab |page=222 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTr-ouCbL2AC&pg=PA222}} As food, male edible crabs are referred to as cocks and females as hens. Cocks have more sweet white meat; hens have more rich brown meat.{{cite news |title=Food detective: crabs |work=The Times |date=February 9, 2008 |author=Sheila Keating |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article3304808.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516223609/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article3304808.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 16, 2008 |access-date=June 26, 2011}} Dishes include dressed crab (crab meat arranged in the cleaned shell, sometimes with decoration of other foodstuffs), soups such as bisque or bouillabaisse, pâtés, mousses, and hot soufflés.{{cite book |author=Rowland Foote |year=1996 |title=Food preparation and cooking: Cookery units. Student guide |series=Catering and hospitality, NVQ/SVQ2 |edition=2nd |publisher=Nelson Thornes |isbn=978-0-7487-2566-3 |chapter=Types of shellfish |pages=306–309 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRcidxIUWYMC&pg=PA306}}

According to the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Cancer pagurus was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae, which marks the starting point of zoological nomenclature. It was chosen to be the type species of the genus Cancer by Pierre André Latreille in 1810.{{cite journal|journal=Raffles Bulletin of Zoology |year=2008 |volume=17 |pages=1–286 |title=Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world |author1=Peter K. L. Ng |author2=Danièle Guinot |author3=Peter J. F. Davie |url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s17/s17rbz.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606061453/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s17/s17rbz.pdf |archive-date=2011-06-06 }} The specific epithet {{wikt-lang|la|pagurus}} is a Latin word, deriving from the {{langx|grc|πάγουρος}} ({{transliteration|grc|pagouros}}), which, alongside {{wikt-lang|grc|κάρκινος}} ({{transliteration|grc|karkinos}}), was used to refer to edible marine crabs; neither classical term can be confidently assigned to a particular species.{{cite book |author=Andrew Dalby |year=2003 |title=Food in the ancient world from A to Z |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-23259-3 |chapter=Crab |page=105 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtIXAe2qYDgC&pg=PA105}}

Although the genus Cancer formerly included most crabs,{{cite book |author1=Gary C. B. Poore |author2=Shane T. Ahyong |year=2004 |title=Marine decapod Crustacea of southern Australia: a guide to identification |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |isbn=978-0-643-06906-0 |chapter=Cancridae Latreille, 1803 |pages=401–403 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZWnuGc0xlMC&pg=PA401}} it has since been restricted to eight species. Within that set of closely related species, the closest relative of C. pagurus is the Jonah crab, C. borealis, from the east coast of North America.{{cite journal |author1=Michelle K. Harrison |author2=Bernard J. Crespi |year=1999 |title=Phylogenetics of Cancer crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=186–199 |doi=10.1006/mpev.1998.0608 |url=http://decapoda.arthroinfo.org/pdfs/4160/4160.pdf |pmid=10381321}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Portal|Crustaceans}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Cancer pagurus|Cancer pagurus}}
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/dressedcrab_90206 Dressed crab], recipe from BBC Food
• {{SealifePhotos|107276}}

{{Edible crustaceans}}

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Category:Cancroidea

Category:Edible crustaceans

Category:Commercial crustaceans

Category:Crabs of the Atlantic Ocean

Category:Crustaceans described in 1758

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus