Dungeness
Crab
Scientific classification
Cancer magister
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Superfamily: Cancroidea
Family: Cancridae
Genus: Cancer
Species: magister
Binomial name
Cancer magister
The Dungeness crab is a type of crab that inhabits eelgrass
beds and water bottoms from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska
to Santa Cruz, California. They are named after Dungeness,
Washington, a town now known as Old Town, Washington or
Old Town Dungeness, Washington, which is located approximately
five miles north of Sequim.
They measure as much as 10 inches (25.4 cm) in some areas
off the coast of Washington, but typically are under 8
inches (20.3 cm). They are a popular delicacy, and are
the most commercially important crab in the Pacific Northwest.
Dungeness crabs have a wide, hard shell which they must
split in order to grow; this process is called ecdysis.
They have five pairs of legs, which are similarly armored,
the foremost pair of which ends in claws which the crab
uses both as defense and to tear apart large food items.
The crab uses its smaller appendages to pass the food
particles into its mouth. Once inside the crab’s
stomach, food is further digested by the "gastric
mill", a collection of tooth-like structures. Cancer
magister prefers to eat clams, other crustaceans and small
fish, but is also an effective scavenger.
Mating occurs between male and female crabs only after
the female has molted, and the female extrudes the eggs
from her body several months later; however, they remain
attached under her abdomen for three to five months until
they hatch. Young dunganess crab are free-swimming after
hatching and go through five larval stages before reaching
maturity after about ten moults or two years.
Although crabs are traditionally associated with moving
sideways, they can use their appendages to move in any
direction. Dungness crabs can also bury themselves completely
in the sand if threatened.
The safest place to hold the Dungeness crab is its back.
Although the hind part of the crab is commonly used to
pick up the crabs, their claws can sometimes reach the
holder's hand.
ungeness, dungenes, dungenss
See also
• Blue
Crab
• Crab
• Soft Shell crab
• Queen crab ( snow, opilio)
• King
Crab
• Crustacean
• Lobster
• Spiny
Lobster
• Scallops
• Oysters
• Red
Lobster Coupons
• 
Order
delicious dungeness crab online - fresh seafood
This article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Dungeness Crab".
|
