Category: Crabs and Shrimp view all from this category
Description 3 3/4" (95 mm) wide, 4" (102 mm) long. Round, spiny. Grayish-yellow or brown, tips of fingers white. Carapace globular; beak extended, with shallow, V-shaped notch; midline with 9 spines in a row, border with 7 spines behind eye socket, numerous smaller spines of different sizes, and hairs, on upper surface. Pincers equal; hand long, narrow; movable finger slightly curved, both fingers toothed; walking legs long, hairy. Legs and pincers of male almost twice as long as female's.
Habitat Various kinds of bottoms; from low-tide line to water 410' (125 m) deep.
Range Nova Scotia to Florida and Texas.
Discussion Common Spider Crab males frequently have walking legs and pincers more than 6" (15 cm) long, and are impressive in their slow, careful locomotion. They are often overgrown with fine algae which accumulates dirt and debris. The Doubtful Spider Crab (L. dubia) lives a similar life in comparable habitat, and ranges from Cape Cod to Florida, Texas, the Bahamas and Cuba. It differs in having a longer beak with a deeper central notch, 6 spines down the midline, and 6 spines along the margin, the last nearly 3 times as long as the others.
