Charybdis is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of swimming crabs in the family Portunidae

Portunidae

Portunidae is a family of crabs which contains the swimming crabs.-Description:Portunid crabs are characterised by the flattening of the fifth pair of legs into broad paddles, which are used for swimming...

; "Charybdis

Charybdis

Charybdis or Kharybdis was a sea monster, later rationalised as a whirlpool and considered a shipping hazard in the Strait of Messina.-The mythological background:...

" is Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 for whirlpool

Whirlpool

A whirlpool is a swirling body of water usually produced by ocean tides. The vast majority of whirlpools are not very powerful. More powerful ones are more properly termed maelstroms. Vortex is the proper term for any whirlpool that has a downdraft...

.

Species

The genus Charybdis contains the following species:

Subgenus Charybdis (Charybdis) De Haan, 1833

• Charybdis acuta (A. Milne-Edwards, 1869)
• Charybdis acutidens Türkay, 1986
• Charybdis affinis Dana, 1852
• Charybdis amboinensis Leene, 1938
• Charybdis anisodon (De Haan, 1850)
• Charybdis annulata (Fabricius, 1798)
• Charybdis beauforti Leene & Buitendijk, 1949
• Charybdis brevispinosa Leene, 1937
• Charybdis callianassa (Herbst, 1789)
• Charybdis cookei Rathbun, 1923
• Charybdis crosnieri Spiridonov & Türkay, 2001
• Charybdis curtilobus Stephenson & Rees, 1967
• Charybdis demani Leene, 1937
• Charybdis feriata (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Charybdis gordonae Shen, 1934
• Charybdis granulata (De Haan, 1833)
• Charybdis hawaiensis Edmondson, 1954
• Charybdis hellerii (A. Milne-Edwards, 1867)
• Charybdis heterodon Nobili, 1905
• Charybdis holosericus (Fabricius, 1787)
• Charybdis ihlei Leene & Buitendijk, 1949
• Charybdis incisa Rathbun, 1923
• Charybdis japonica
  Charybdis japonica
  Charybdis japonica, the Asian paddle crab, is a swimming crab species in the genus Charybdis. Charybdis japonica has a hexagonal, concave carapace around wide, the whole animal being pale green to olive green in colour....
  
  (A. Milne-Edwards, 1861)
• Charybdis jaubertensis Rathbun, 1924
• Charybdis javaensis Zarenkov, 1970
• Charybdis lucifera (Fabricius, 1798)
• Charybdis meteor Spiridonov & Türkay, 2001
• Charybdis miles (De Haan, 1835)
• Charybdis natator (Herbst, 1794)
• Charybdis orientalis Dana, 1852
• Charybdis padadiana Ward, 1941
• Charybdis philippinensis Ward, 1941
• Charybdis rathbuni Leene, 1938
• Charybdis riversandersoni Alcock, 1899
• Charybdis rosea (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1846)
• Charybdis rostrata (A. Milne-Edwards, 1861)
• Charybdis rufodactylus Stephenson & Rees, 1968
• Charybdis sagamiensis Parisi, 1916
• Charybdis salehensis Leene, 1938
• Charybdis seychellensis Crosnier, 1984
• Charybdis spinifera (Miers, 1884)
• Charybdis vannamei Ward, 1941
• Charybdis variegata (Fabricius, 1798)
• Charybdis yaldwyni Rees & Stephenson, 1967

Subgenus Charybdis (Goniohellenus) Alcock, 1899

• Charybdis curtidentata Stephenson, 1967
• Charybdis hongkongensis Shen, 1934
• Charybdis hoplites (Wood-Mason, 1877)
• Charybdis longicollis Leene, 1938
• Charybdis omanensis Leene, 1938
• Charybdis ornata (A. Milne-Edwards, 1861)
• Charybdis padangensis Leene & Buitendijk, 1952
• Charybdis philippinensis Ward, 1941
• Charybdis pusilla Alcock, 1899
• Charybdis smithii MacLeay, 1838
• Charybdis truncata (Fabricius, 1798)
• Charybdis vadorum Alcock, 1899

Subgenus Charybdis (Gonioneptunus) Ortmann, 1894

• Charybdis africana Shen, 1935
• Charybdis bimaculata (Miers, 1886)
• Charybdis orlik Zarenkov, 1970

Subgenus Charybdis (Goniosupradens) Leene, 1938

• Charybdis acutifrons (De Man, 1879)
• Charybdis erythrodactyla (Lamarck, 1818)
• Charybdis obtusifrons Leene, 1937

Incertae sedis

Incertae sedis

, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...

• Charybdis paucidentata (A. Milne-Edwards)
• Charybdis sexdentata (Herbst, 1783)

Charybdis affinis

Charybdis affinis has a hexagonal, concave carapace

Carapace

A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...

 with a yellowish-grey colour. This crab is found in the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 and in the West Pacific.

Charybdis feriata

Charybdis feriata is found in the Indian and Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

s, from Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 to Southern Africa

Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...

 and the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

. It is an edible crab and because of its large size, high quality of meat and relatively soft exoskeleton, it has a high commercial value. Attempts are being made to farm this crab using aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...

. In Hong Kong Cantonese

Hong Kong Cantonese

Hong Kong Cantonese is a form of Yue Chinese commonly spoken in Hong Kong. Although Hongkongers largely identify this variant of Chinese with the term "Cantonese" , a variety of publications in mainland China describe the variant as Hong Kong speech...

 it is known as the flowery crab (花蟹). This name probably arises from its red and white colouring when cooked. This species of crab is also known as Charybdis feriatus and Charybdis cruciata, and has also been found in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

. The specific epithet cruciata refers to the red cross on the carapace

Carapace

A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...

 of this species. According to legend the Spanish Jesuit Saint Francis Xavier saw this crab in Indonesia. "".

Charybdis hellerii

Charybdis hellerii is characterised by a hexagonal, concave carapace with a mottled brownish-grey colour. This crab originates from the Indo-West Pacific, from the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

 to New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

. However this crab has now also successively invaded the Western Atlantic (Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 to Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

) and the Mediterranean Sea.

Charybdis japonica

Charybdis japonica

Charybdis japonica

Charybdis japonica, the Asian paddle crab, is a swimming crab species in the genus Charybdis. Charybdis japonica has a hexagonal, concave carapace around wide, the whole animal being pale green to olive green in colour....

has a hexagonal, concave carapace

Carapace

A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...

 around 12 centimetres (4.7 in) wide, the whole animal being pale green to olive green in colour. It occurs naturally in the waters around Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 and Malaysia, but has become an invasive species

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

 in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Charybdis longicollis

Charybdis longicollis is an invasive species from the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

 that invaded the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 fifty years ago.

Charybdis natator

Charybdis natator is characterised by a brownish upper surface with some white spots among the wafts or bright red granules. On its under surface it is bluish, mottled with white and pale red. This crab is not a major target for commercial fishing.