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Portunidae
 
 
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Portunidae is the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 which contains the 44 genera
Genera

Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a Fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with Lisp Machines, Inc....
 of swimming crabs. It comprises some 320 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
, including many well-known shoreline crabs such as the European shore crab
Carcinus maenas

Carcinus maenas is a common littoral crab, and an important invasive species. It is listed among the 100 "world's worst invasive alien species" ....
 (Carcinus maenas), blue crab
Blue crab

The blue crab is a crustacean found in the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, which is the Maryland State Crustacean and the subject of an extensive fishery....
 (Callinectes sapidus), velvet crab
Velvet crab

The velvet crab is the largest swimming crab found in British Isles coastal waters, with a carapace width of up to 100 mm. The body is coated with short hairs, giving the animal a velvety texture, hence the common name....
 (Necora puber) and lady crab
Lady crab

The lady crab or calico crab, scientific name Ovalipes ocellatus, is a species of marine swimming crab....
 (Ovalipes ocellatus).

Two genera in the family are contrastingly named Scylla and Charybdis
Charybdis (genus)

Charybdis is a genus of swimming crabs in the family Portunidae; "Charybdis" is Greek language for whirlpool. There are many species in the genus Charybdis:...
; the former contains the economically important species black crab
Scylla serrata

Scylla serrata is an economically important crab species found in the estuary and mangroves of Africa, Australia and Asia. In their most common form, the shell colour varies from a deep, mottled green to very dark brown....
 (Scylla serrata) and Scylla paramamosain
Scylla paramamosain

Scylla paramamosain is a mud crab commonly consumed in Taiwan and Vietnam The crabs are originally found in the lower Mekong River Delta, but they are now produced from aquaculture farms in southern Vietnam....
.

Swimming crabs reach their greatest species diversity in the Pacific
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
s.








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Encyclopedia


Portunidae is the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 which contains the 44 genera
Genera

Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a Fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with Lisp Machines, Inc....
 of swimming crabs. It comprises some 320 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
, including many well-known shoreline crabs such as the European shore crab
Carcinus maenas

Carcinus maenas is a common littoral crab, and an important invasive species. It is listed among the 100 "world's worst invasive alien species" ....
 (Carcinus maenas), blue crab
Blue crab

The blue crab is a crustacean found in the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, which is the Maryland State Crustacean and the subject of an extensive fishery....
 (Callinectes sapidus), velvet crab
Velvet crab

The velvet crab is the largest swimming crab found in British Isles coastal waters, with a carapace width of up to 100 mm. The body is coated with short hairs, giving the animal a velvety texture, hence the common name....
 (Necora puber) and lady crab
Lady crab

The lady crab or calico crab, scientific name Ovalipes ocellatus, is a species of marine swimming crab....
 (Ovalipes ocellatus).

Two genera in the family are contrastingly named Scylla and Charybdis
Charybdis (genus)

Charybdis is a genus of swimming crabs in the family Portunidae; "Charybdis" is Greek language for whirlpool. There are many species in the genus Charybdis:...
; the former contains the economically important species black crab
Scylla serrata

Scylla serrata is an economically important crab species found in the estuary and mangroves of Africa, Australia and Asia. In their most common form, the shell colour varies from a deep, mottled green to very dark brown....
 (Scylla serrata) and Scylla paramamosain
Scylla paramamosain

Scylla paramamosain is a mud crab commonly consumed in Taiwan and Vietnam The crabs are originally found in the lower Mekong River Delta, but they are now produced from aquaculture farms in southern Vietnam....
.

Swimming crabs reach their greatest species diversity in the Pacific
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
s.

Selected genera and species