Corystes cassivelaunus | |
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A male C. cassivelaunus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Decapoda |
Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
Infraorder: | Brachyura |
Family: | Corystidae |
Genus: |
Corystes Bosc, 1802 |
Species: | C. cassivelaunus
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Binomial name | |
Corystes cassivelaunus (
Pennant, 1777)
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Synonyms | |
Corystes cassivelaunus, the masked crab, helmet crab or sand crab, [1] is a burrowing crab of the North Atlantic and North Sea from Portugal to Norway, which also occurs in the Mediterranean Sea. [2] It may grow up to 4 centimetres or 1.6 inches long ( carapace length). [1] The name "masked crab" derives from the patterns on the carapace which resemble a human face (a case of pareidolia), in a similar manner to heikegani. [3] It is the only species in the genus Corystes. [4]
C. cassivelaunus lives buried in sandy substrates, where it feeds on the infaunal invertebrates such as polychaete worms and bivalve molluscs. [1] It uses its two antennae to form a breathing tube that allows oxygenated water down into the substrate. [5] [6] The chelipeds of males are much longer than the body, while those of females are only about as long as the carapace. [7]