Know Your Crabs:

Crabs aren’t just crabs. Here’s just a handful of some of the weird and wonderful guys you might meet on the wall, under a rock, scuttling away with your bait, or in your nightmares. This list will grow and grow. So make sure to check back.

Brown Crab (Cancer pagurus)

Also known as the Edible Crab. Big, reddish-brown, with black-tipped claws. The one in your crab sandwich if you’re feeling fancy.

Shore Crab (Carcinus maenas)

The classic crab. Green, brown, sometimes orange claws. Found everywhere from harbours to rockpools. The first crab most kids ever catch.

Spider Crab (Maja brachydactyla)

Massive spider legs with a small body. Found in deeper waters but sometimes sneaks into drop nets off pontoons. Looks like something from your nightmares (or dreams, depending who you ask).

Velvet Swimming Crab (Necora puber)

Called the Devil Crab for good reason. Small, dark, red eyes, covered in velvety hairs, and full of rage. Will fight anything, including you.

Common Hermit Crab (Pagurus bernhardus)

Lives in borrowed snail shells. Tiny but full of character. More common in rockpools than off the harbour wall.

Broad-clawed Porcelain Crab (Porcellana platycheles)

Small, flat, wide front claws. Often overlooked under rocks but worth spotting. Feathery mouthparts for filter feeding – basically a crab whale.

Bristly Crab (Pilumnus hirtellus)

Small crab with a hairy body. Found under stones and among seaweed. Looks like it’s wearing a crab beard.

Northern Stone Crab (Lithodes maja)

Rare in shallow waters but lives around the UK coast. Thick claws, heavy shell, built like a tank. More common offshore.