Corystes

Corystes cassivelaunus, the masked crab, helmet crab or sand crab,[1] is a burrowing crab of the North Atlantic and North Sea from Portugal to Norway, which also occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.[2] It may grow up to 4 centimetres or 1.6 inches long (carapace length).[1] The name "masked crab" derives from the patterns on the carapace which resemble a human face (a case of pareidolia), in a similar manner to heikegani.[3] It is the only species in the genus Corystes.[4]

Corystes cassivelaunus
A male C. cassivelaunus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Corystidae
Genus: Corystes
Bosc, 1802
Species:
C. cassivelaunus
Binomial name
Corystes cassivelaunus
(Pennant, 1777)
Synonyms
  • Cancer cassivelaunus Pennant, 1777
  • Hippa dentata Fabricius, 1793
  • Cancer personatus Herbst, 1785
  • Albunea dentata Fabricius, 1798
  • Corystes dentatus Latreille, 1801

C. cassivelaunus lives buried in sandy substrates, where it feeds on the infaunal invertebrates such as polychaete worms and bivalve molluscs.[1] It uses its two antennae to form a breathing tube that allows oxygenated water down into the substrate.[5][6] The chelipeds of males are much longer than the body, while those of females are only about as long as the carapace.[7]

References

  1. "Masked crab (Corystes cassivelaunus)". ARKive.org. Archived from the original on 2004-12-26. Retrieved November 14, 2006.
  2. "Crabs of the Southern North Sea". Department Zeevisserij (Sea Fisheries Department). October 8, 2001. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007.
  3. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913). masked crab. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2006-11-14.
  4. Peter Davie & Michael Türkay (2011). "Corystes Bosc, 1802". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  5. "Helmkrab" (in Dutch). Waddenzee.nl. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  6. "Masked crab, Corystes cassivelaunus". Sefton Coast.
  7. M. J. De Kluijver. & S. S. Ingalsuo. "Corystes cassivelaunus". Macrobenthos of the North Sea: Crustacea. Universiteit van Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
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