| Japanese shore crab | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Varunidae |
| Genus: | Hemigrapsus |
| Species: | H. sanguineus |
| Binomial name | |
| Hemigraspus sanguineus (De Haan, 1853) [1] |
|
The Japanese shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, has a square-like carapace with three marginal teeth toward the front of each side of the carapace and alternating light and dark bands on the legs. It reaches 2–3 inches (51–76 mm) in width. Its native range is from southern Russia to Hong Kong. During the 1990s, this invasive species became increasingly common from Portland, Maine to North Carolina.[2]