Maja brachydactyla   Balss, 1922

Atlantic spinous spider crab

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Maja brachydactyla  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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drawing shows typical species in Majidae.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Malacostraca | Decapoda | Majidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 0 - 80 m (Ref. 104052).  Temperate

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean: from the North Sea to Morocco and Bay of Biscay, extending southwards to Namibia including off lying islands.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 13.0  range ? - ? cm Max length : 22.0 cm CL male/unsexed; (Ref. 104052)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Maximum depth from Ref. 115714. Juveniles about to reach maturity live in shallow waters from 10 to 15 m deep on rocky and sandy substrates (Ref. 115713). They are also found on sandy bottoms colonized by Zostera marina. During summer, adults live near the shore on rocky areas. In winter, they are spotted on rocky bottoms and heterogeneous coarse sediments in deep waters. Both juveniles and adults during summer are found on muddy sands with few rocks (Ref. 115714). Uses slow, small-scale, non-directional movements. Exhibiting ontogenetic movements, juveniles live at depth of 5 to 15 m; adults then migrate to deeper waters (>50 m), where they mate (Ref. 115713). Diet remains to be accurately described. Studies (i.e. direct field observations, laboratory experiments, and gut content analyses) have suggested the species to have an omnivorous diet based on consumption of prey commonly found in their habitat (Ref. 115714). In one study, however, it was considered a mobile carnivorous species (Ref. 96498). Research using stable isotopes indicate no differences between sexes in diet or habitat use patterns either in adults (Refs. 115714, 115744) or juveniles (Refs. 115713, 115714, 115744).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the order Decapoda are mostly gonochoric. Mating behavior: Precopulatory courtship ritual is common (through olfactory and tactile cues); usually indirect sperm transfer.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Le Pape, O., L. Baulier, A. Cloarec, J. Martin, F. Le Loc'h and Y. Désaunay. 2007. (Ref. 96498)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
| FishSource |

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance
References
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Resilience (Ref. 69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Fec=300,000).