Photo: Missvain · Image source ·CC0
Animal profile · Crustaceans · Swimming crab
Dungeness crab
Metacarcinus magister
The Dungeness crab is a broad-bodied Pacific crab with white-tipped claws. It lives from shallow bays to deeper continental-shelf habitats.
Not a fish · an aquatic neighborWater
Saltwater + Brackish
Sandy or muddy seafloor, eelgrass beds, bays, and nearshore waters.
Temperature
Range not established
A dependable species-specific wild temperature range was not established from the reviewed sources, so both values are null.
Size
Up to about 23 cm (9 in) carapace width
About as wide as a dinner plate
Lifespan
Usually about 8–10 years, with regional variation.
Life expectancy varies with place, conditions, and what scientists have been able to observe.
01 · Signature adaptation
What does it do?
It burrows in sediment and can migrate through bays and coastal waters. Females carry eggs beneath the abdomen until larvae hatch into the water column.
02 · Home coordinates
Where does it live?
Aleutian Islands and Alaska south through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, and Baja California.
Regions: Northeast Pacific · West coast of North America
03 · The menu
What does it eat?
It walks across the bottom and crushes, picks, or scavenges available food.
Omnivore and scavenger: clams, mussels, worms, small fish, crustaceans, carrion.
04 · Remember this
Two wow facts
Plate-sized shell
A large Dungeness crab can have a carapace nearly as wide as a dinner plate.
Sources [1]
Acidification concern
Research indicates that ocean acidification can affect developing Dungeness crab larvae.
Sources [2]