It can also be found on the coasts of northern and eastern Europe and the United States, and has been reported in small numbers in the Chesapeake Bay. The Chinese mitten crab is a light brown crustacean with a distinct pair of hairy, white-tipped claws.
Native to East Asia, the invasive species has been reported in small numbers in the Chesapeake Bay. The Chinese mitten crab has a light brown, square-shaped carapace shell can reach width of up to 10 centimeters and features four lateral spines. Males have a V-shaped abdomen, while females have a U-shaped abdomen. The study indicates that once physical contact is established, a contact pheromone is involved.
Mitten Crabs are omnivores, which means that they eat both plants and animals as its primary food source. As juveniles they mostly eat vegetation but also prey on small invertebrates "Chinese Mitten Crab: Life and History", Mitten Crabs are subject to predation by many carnivorous organisms in the water and on land, including fish, frogs, and birds.
Mitten crabs are prey for many animals. They are also a secondary intermediate host of the Oriental lung fluke -- Paragonimus ringeri. Mammals including humans are the final host of this parasite. Mitten crabs can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions.
This is evident as this species has been spread via shipping to North America as well as Europe. When they are introduced to a new environment, their population becomes very large very fast and they change the structure of the local environment.
For instance during migration, mitten crabs burrow into sediment and this increases erosion that can lead to collapse of river banks. They may also have a profound effect on biological communities through predation and competition. Mitten crabs are a delicacy in Asia and other places. They can be used as bait for eel fishing, in the production of cosmetic products, and as fertilizer in agriculture.
Clark and Hemsley-Flint, ; Gollasch, When the mitten crabs invade, they can damage the riverbanks because of their burrowing behavior as mentioned in the Ecosystem Roles section. This could be a financial problem if development along the riverbank is threatened.
Mitten crabs cause damages to commercial fishing nets. They could also eat the trapped fish in commercial ponds. Crabs damage crops in China by consuming rice shoots.
Humans can become infected with Paragonimus ringeri by eating poorly cooked or raw mitten crabs. Eriocheir sinensis is not vulnerable, threatened, or endangered on any part of its native or introduced range. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa. Note: It is illegal to import eggs or live specimens of any species of mitten crab genus Eriocheir to the United States under the Federal Lacey Act. It is also illegal to import, transport, or possess live Chinese mitten crabs in California, Washington, and Oregon. The main identifying features of the mitten crab are the dense patches of hairs on the white-tipped claws of larger juveniles and adults, hence the name mitten crab. The claws are equal in size, the shell carapace has four spines on either side, and reaches a width of approximately 3 inches 80 mm.
The legs of the adult crab are generally more than twice as long as the width of the carapace. A catadromous species, the adults migrate downstream to reproduce in the brackish waters of estuaries. The females carry , to 1 million eggs until hatching, and both sexes die soon after reproduction.
After a 1- to 2-month period as planktonic larvae, the small juvenile crabs settle out in salt or brackish water in late spring, then migrate, often long distances, to freshwater to rear.
Mitten crabs are omnivores, eating both plants and animals. Juveniles eat primarily vegetation. As they mature, the crabs increasingly prey upon animals, especially small invertebrates including worms and clams. In California, adult crabs have become a major nuisance to anglers, taking a variety of baits ranging from ghost shrimp to shad. Right about now, mitten crabs on the lam might be navigating crab traps and fishing gear on a quest to find mates as they make their way back toward the salt water from which they emerged.
All rights reserved. Wildlife Watch is an investigative reporting project between National Geographic Society and National Geographic Partners focusing on wildlife crime and exploitation.
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