Swimming Crabs

swimming crabs a large category of crabs which swim in the water as opposed to just scuttling about on the sand or the seabed, and which include such important edible species as the blue crab of N. America. Swimming crabs can easily be recognized by the fact that their hindmost legs have developed into ‘swimmerets’, paddle shaped at the ends so that they can be used for propulsion.

The chief family of swimming crabs, Portunidae, is well represented around the world. In Europe it includes a number of small species, notably Necora puber, Spanish nécora, French étrille, Italian grancia d’arena. The largest crab of a small tribe whose members are usually consigned to the soup pot, this one may measure 7 cm (2.5") across the body.