Chionoecetes opilio
| Chionoecetes opilio | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Oregoniidae |
| Genus: | Chionoecetes |
| Species: | C. opilio |
| Binomial name | |
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Chionoecetes opilio (O. Fabricius, 1788) |
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| Synonyms | |
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| External identifiers for Chionoecetes opilio | |
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| Encyclopedia of Life | 1286907 |
| ITIS | 621745 |
| NCBI | 41210 |
| WoRMS | 107315 |
Chionoecetes opilio, also known as snow crab, is a predominantly epifaunal crustacean native to shelf depths in the northwest Atlantic Ocean and north Pacific Ocean. It is a well-known commercial species of Chionoecetes, often caught with traps or by trawling. Male C. opilio crabs with a total length above 91 mm (3.6 in) long are the most commonly trapped, especially around Newfoundland. Seven species are in the genus Chionoecetes, all of which bear the name "snow crab". C. opilio is also related to Chionoecetes tanneri, commonly known as the tanner crab, and other crab species found in the cold, northern oceans.
Snow crabs have equally long and wide carapaces, or protective shell-coverings, over their bodies. Their tubercles, or the bodily projections on their shell, are moderately enclosed in calcium deposits, and they boast hooked setae, which are rigid, yet springy, hair-like organs on their claws. Snow crabs have a horizontal rostrum at the front of the carapace; the rostrum is basically just an extension of the hard, shell covering of the carapace and it boasts two flat horns separated by a gap. They have triangular spines and well-defined gastric and branchial regions internally. Snow crabs also have little granules along the border of their bodies, except their intestinal region. Concerning their walking legs, their first three are compressed; their chelipeds, or pincers, are usually smaller, shorter, or equal to their walking legs. Snow crab are iridescent and range in color from brown to light red on top and from yellow to white on the bottom, and are bright white on the sides of their feet.
Snow crabs are very abundant in the Atlantic Ocean region. More specifically, they are found in the Western Atlantic area near Greenland, Newfoundland, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and on the Scotian Shelf. This crab species is also found across the North Pacific area, in areas ranging from Alaska to northern Siberia, and through the Bering Strait to the Aleutian Islands, Japan, and Korea.
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