Flatback Mud Crab
Eurypanopeus depressus
Description 4
Eurypanopeus depressus is a mud crab in the family Panopeidae (superfamily: Xanthoidea) that inhabits oyster reefs in temperate, subtropical, and tropical oceans. The depressed mud crab is small with an oval and flattened carapace. The carapace has four lateral teeth on both sides and mottled grayish olive or dark olive brown in color. There are two dark brown chelipeds (claws), one large and one small. Underneath, the legs and body are light colored (Williams 1984).E. depressus seeks refuge from direct sunlight during low tide as well as from predators hiding in the clusters and valves of Crassostrea virginica and are sometimes found on the mud surface (Grant and McDonald 1979, McDonald 1982, Meyer 1994).
Size 5
The lengths and weights reported for the depressed mud crab are 1 to 130 mm and 0.5-0.8 g, respectively (Boudreax et al. 2006). Juvenile males reach maturity at 5.1 to 6 mm and females will have their first clutches at 5.5 to 6.4 mm (Williams 1984). Juveniles can reach maturity in the first summer after the eggs can hatch.
Reproduction 6
Eurypanopeus depressus has separate sexes. The reproductive season varies depending upon the seawater temperatures in a region (McDonald 1982). In temperate areas from Massachusetts to South Carolina the spawning begins in the spring around March or April and ends in late fall around October or November (McDonald 1982, Williams 1984) while in the subtropical waters of Florida and the tropical waters of the Caribbean, reproduction occurs throughout the year (Williams 1984). E. depressus females carry their eggs under the abdomen.
Link to Access Genomic Data 7
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=108111&lvl=0
Sources and Credits
- (c) Crabby Taxonomist, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/crabby_taxonomist/7212894662/
- (c) 2010 Moorea Biocode, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=91507&one=T
- (c) 2010 Moorea Biocode, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=91508&one=T
- (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526122
- Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526127
- Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526126
- (c) Emily Rose Sharkey, all rights reserved
