Stone Crab Information
The stone crab is a true crab, of which there are two types, the Menippe mercenaria and Menippe adina. Each belongs to a family of crabs called Xanthidae, which includes an array of varied species of crabs. Stone crabs can be found along the East Coast, between North and South America. In certain parts where they are found, stone crabs are a food commodity.
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Features
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When immature, stone crabs are often dark colored, in tones of blue and purple. Sometimes three white spots in a triangle shape can be found on the carapace. When older, the coloration of the stone crab ranges from green to brown on the carapace's frontal portion, and from off white to tan back portion. The carapace is also mottled with dark patches. When mature the size of the shell, the carapace, is 4 inches wide by 3 to 3.5 inches in length. The top of the outer shell is larger on females. Periodically the shell is shed and is replaced.
The most notable feature of the stone crab is one claw being larger than the other. The larger claw is called the crusher claw. Female claws tend to be smaller than male claws.
Considerations
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Stone crabs are carnivorous crustaceans. Their main source of food is the oyster, but they also eat other crustaceans, polychaete worms, seagrass, small mollusks and carrion. The stone crab larvae eat zooplankton. The females can live for approximately eight years and the males seven.
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Function
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The claw of the stone crab is harvested, but to avoid depopulation only one of the pincer claws may be removed from the crab. The removed claw is replaced by a new one that grows back in about a year.
Geography
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Stone crabs are found from the Carolinas south along the southeastern coastal United States, including the Gulf of Mexico coast, on into Central America around the Yucatan Peninsula and out to the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas.
The stone crab can be found in estuaries, bay floors, rock jetties, inlets and close to oyster shoals and oyster reefs, preferably of high salinity. These places provide a secure location from predators. The larvae live close to shore and in estuaries. Immature stone crabs tend not to dig burrows, as fully developed crabs do. Instead they use areas of sea grass and rocks as places of safety.
Warning
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Stone crabs are not immune to water pollution. If the water where stone crabs are harvested becomes polluted this could devastate the populations of crabs.
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