DETAILS
- Discipline
NH: ZOOLOGY: INVERTEBRATES: CRUSTACEANS (CRABS, LOBSTER, SHRIMP, WOODLICE)
- Scientific Name
Cancer pagurus Linnaeus, 1758
- Common Name
Edible crab
- Date Collected
7 October 1990
- Place Collected
Scotland, Ayrshire, Ailsa Craig, (place collected)
- Age
adult
- Form
dried
- Dimensions
overall: 120 x 410 x 300 mm
- Description
-
The edible crab (Cancer pagurus) is a large robust crab found in the waters of the North Atlantic, North Sea and Mediterranean. It has a reddish colour with a distinctive ‘pie-crust’ edge on the carapace and black tips on its large claws.
The crabs are mainly active at night when they leave their hiding places and forage for other crustaceans and molluscs to eat; they use their powerful claws to crush the shells of their prey. They are popular for human consumption, hence the common name, and are also eaten by octopus and fish.
This crab was collected from the seas around Ailsa Craig, a tiny island off the Ayrshire coast. It was freeze dried and then touched up with paint so that it could be put on display in a lifelike pose. - ID Number
Z.1991.30
- Location
Kelvingrove Scottish Wildlife Gallery
- Terms