| Portunidae (swimming crabs) |
| 28 cm CW (male/unsexed); max.weight: 3,000.0 g |
|
benthic; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 50 m |
| Indo-West Pacific. Introduced in Hawaii and USA. |
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Carapace smooth, with strong transverse ridges; H-shaped gastric groove deep; relatively broad frontal lobes, all more or less in line with each other; broad anterolateral teeth, projecting obliquely outwards. Well-developed present on outer surface of chelipedal carpus and anterior and posterior dorsal parts of the palm. Color: carapace green to almost black; legs may be marbled. |
| Maximum carapace width: between 25 and 28 cm. Maximum weight between 2 and 3 kg. Also collected by baited wire mesh pots. Sold in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, where the large crabs (so called "meat crabs") and females with ripe ovaries ("roe crabs") command a price from US$5 to US$10 per kg. Largest exporters of this species are Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh. There have been attempts to culture the crabs in captivity, but none of the closed-cycle enterprise have gone commercial. Tide is relied upon by farms to bring megalopae or late zoeae into grow-out ponds. |
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Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. 123251)
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C: Ref. 96667, 111153. |
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