Oyster crab
| Oyster crab | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Z. ostreus on Crassostrea virginica | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Pinnotheridae |
| Genus: | Zaops |
| Species: | Z. ostreus |
| Binomial name | |
| Zaops ostreus (Say, 1817) [1][2] | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
The oyster crab (Zaops ostreus) is a small, whitish or translucent crab in the family Pinnotheridae. Found specifically in oysters, it is an edible sea food delicacy.
Ecology
It is less than half an inch across, and lives inside the gills of an oyster or a clam.[3] It uses the oyster for protection and lives on the food that the oyster gets for itself. It is found in oysters in the North Atlantic Ocean.[3]
Distribution
Zaops ostreus is found along the eastern seaboards of North America and South America, from Massachusetts to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.[4]
Further reading
- "The Oyster Crab Salad" (PDF). New York Times. March 20, 1893.
- "Oyster Crabs - - The Epicure's Delight" (PDF). New York Times. November 9, 1913.
References
- 1 2 P. K. L. Ng, D. Guinot & P. J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 17: 1–286.
- ↑ "Zaops ostreum (Say, 1817)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
- 1 2 Paul A. Sandifer (1972). "Growth of young oyster crabs, Pinnotheres ostreum Say, reared in the laboratory". Chesapeake Science. 13 (3): 221–222. doi:10.2307/1351069.
- ↑ Darryl L. Felder, Fernando Álvarez, Joseph W. Goy & Rafael Lemaitre (2009). "Decapoda (Crustacea) of the Gulf of Mexico, with comments on the Amphionidacea". In John W. Tunnell, Jr.; Darryl L. Felder; Sylvia A. Earle. Biodiversity. Gulf of Mexico Origin, Waters, and Biota. 1. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 1019–1105. ISBN 978-1-60344-094-3.
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