| Pie crust crab Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
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| Dorsal view | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Cancridae |
| Genus: | Metacarcinus |
| Species: | M. novaezelandiae |
| Binomial name | |
| Metacarcinus novaezelandiae | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The pie crust crab (Metacarcinus novaezelandiae, formerly Cancer novaezelandiae), is a species of crab found around New Zealand and south-eastern Australia. [2]
In larval form Metacarcinus novaezelandieae consumes mostly tiny plankton. Once fully grown though they are primarily carnivorous, hunting nocturnally and preying on a variety of organisms. Molluscs (bivalves, gastropods and cephalopods) make up approximately one third of its diet and are its main food source; followed by crustaceans (amphipods, isopods, crabs and shrimp) which make up about 20% of its diet. Other food sources include small fish, sea anemones, sea sponges and algae. M. novaezelandieae hunts by using its powerful chelae to catch, kill, crush and access its prey, then feeds using its mouthparts. Its claws are capable of breaking open the tough shells of molluscs allowing the crab to reach the soft mollusc body inside and feed on it. Its claws allow it to effectively kill other forms of prey such as crustaceans as well. [3]
In larval form, Metacarcinus novaezelandieae is preyed upon by various fish species. As an adult, it has several main predators. Sea and shore birds (such as gulls) prey on crabs that expose themselves, often flying them up high and then dropping them to crack the tough crab exoskeleton. Larger fish with strong teeth prey upon these crabs under the water. Humans kill and eat these crabs when gathering food from the coast; as well as indirectly killing them from various industrial, scientific and commercial operations. [3]
New Zealand Maori have historically eaten crabs as part of their kai moana (food from the ocean) diet. Crabs were an easy resource to gather as they are often found in coastal shallows, making them easily accessible sea food. M. novaezelandieae is most likely among the many species of crabs the Maori ate, as it grows to a size large enough to be considered for eating, as well as being found throughout New Zealand. Sea food including M. novaezelandieae are still claimed by Maori today as a cultural food resource. [4]
Fossils of the species are known from the Miocene of New Zealand. [5]
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in freshwater, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and have a single pair of pincers on each arm. They first appeared during the Jurassic period, around 200 million years ago.
Homarus gammarus, known as the European lobster or common lobster, is a species of clawed lobster from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Black Sea. It is closely related to the American lobster, H. americanus. It may grow to a length of 60 cm (24 in) and a mass of 6 kilograms (13 lb), and bears a conspicuous pair of claws. In life, the lobsters are blue, only becoming "lobster red" on cooking. Mating occurs in the summer, producing eggs which are carried by the females for up to a year before hatching into planktonic larvae. Homarus gammarus is a highly esteemed food, and is widely caught using lobster pots, mostly around the British Isles.
The Dungeness crab makes up one of the most important seafood industries along the west coast of North America. Its typical range extends from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to Point Conception, near Santa Barbara, California. Dungeness typically grow 6–7 in (150–180 mm) at their widest point and inhabit eelgrass beds and sandy bottoms. Its common name comes from the Dungeness Spit in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington state, United States, which shelters a shallow bay inhabited by the crabs.
Cancer pagurus, commonly known as the edible crab or brown crab, is a species of crab found in the North Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and perhaps the Mediterranean Sea. It is a robust crab of a reddish-brown colour, having an oval carapace with a characteristic "pie crust" edge and black tips to the claws. A mature adult may have a carapace width up to 25 centimetres and weigh up to 3 kilograms. C. pagurus is a nocturnal predator, targeting a range of molluscs and crustaceans. It is the subject of the largest crab fishery in Western Europe, centred on the coasts of the Ireland and Britain, with more than 60,000 tonnes caught annually.
The yellowbelly flounder is a flatfish of the genus Rhombosolea, found around New Zealand. A different species from the genus Rhombosolea is found in Australia and also goes by the name yellow-belly flounder. The Māori people have commonly fished for R. leporina, and many other species of flatfish, throughout New Zealand's coastal waters for hundreds of years. The Māori name for this species is pātiki tōtara.
Metacarcinus anthonyi, the yellow rock crab or yellow crab, is a species of edible crab native to the Pacific coast of North America.
The New Zealand sand flounder is a righteye flounder of the genus Rhombosolea, found around New Zealand in shallow waters down to depths of 100 m.
Arripis trutta, known as the Australian salmon in Australia and as kahawai in New Zealand, is a South Pacific marine fish and one of the four extant species within the genus Arripis, native to the cooler waters around the southeastern Australian coasts and the New Zealand coastline. Other common names for this species include Eastern Australian salmon, bay trout, blackback salmon, buck salmon, cocky salmon, colonial salmon, newfish and salmon trout.
A molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specialises in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods and cephalopods. Known molluscivores include numerous predatory molluscs,, arthropods such as crabs and firefly larvae, and, vertebrates such as fish, birds and mammals. Molluscivory is performed in a variety ways with some animals highly adapted to this method of feeding behaviour. A similar behaviour, durophagy, describes the feeding of animals that consume hard-shelled or exoskeleton bearing organisms, such as corals, shelled molluscs, or crabs.
Hemigrapsus sexdentatus, also called the “common rock crab” or “common shore crab,” is a marine crab indigenous to the southern shores of New Zealand. This crab is a member of the Varunidae family in the order Decapoda.
The pea crab, Pinnotheres pisum, is a small crab in the family Pinnotheridae that lives as a parasite in oysters, clams, mussels, and other species of bivalves.
Hemigrapsus sanguineus, the Japanese shore crab or Asian shore crab, is a species of crab from East Asia. It has been introduced to several other regions, and is now an invasive species in North America and Europe. It was introduced to these regions by ships from Asia emptying their ballast tanks in coastal waters.
Ovalipes catharus, commonly known as the paddle crab, swimming crab, or Māori: pāpaka, is a species of crab of the family Portunidae which prey predominantly on molluscs and crustaceans and can use their paddle-shaped rear legs to swim and burrow. They are found around the coasts of New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and in east and south Australia.
Notomithrax ursus, known as the hairy seaweed crab, is a spider crab of the family Majidae.
Cancer productus, one of several species known as red rock crabs, is a crab of the genus Cancer found on the western coast of North America. This species is commonly nicknamed the Pearl of the Pacific Northwest.
Oratosquilla oratoria, the Japanese mantis shrimp, is a species of mantis shrimp found in the western Pacific. It is widely harvested in Japan and eaten as sushi. Like other members of its order it has a powerful spear, which it uses to hunt invertebrates and small fish. It grows to a length of 185 millimetres (7.3 in), and lives at depths of 10–100 metres (33–328 ft).
Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Among the myriad inhabitants, the fish stand out as colourful and interesting to watch. Hundreds of species can exist in a small area of a healthy reef, many of them hidden or well camouflaged. Reef fish have developed many ingenious specialisations adapted to survival on the reefs.
Macroctopus maorum is known more commonly as the Maori octopus or the New Zealand octopus. It is found in the waters around New Zealand and southern Australia. M. maorum is one of the largest and most aggressive octopus species living in the New Zealand and Australian waters. They feed mainly on crustaceans and fish. Although they have a short life span, the females lay thousands of eggs and are very protective of them.
Paranotothenia magellanica, also known as Magellanic rockcod, Maori cod, blue notothenia or orange throat notothen, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean. "Maori chief" and "black cod", sometimes used for this species, usually refer to fishes from the related genus Notothenia. Being a perciform fish, it is unrelated to the true cods of the order Gadiformes. This species is commercially important as a food fish.
Declawing of crabs is the process whereby one or both claws of a crab are manually detached before the return of the live crab to the water, as practiced in the fishing industry worldwide. Crabs commonly have the ability to regenerate lost limbs after a period of time, and thus declawing is viewed as a potentially more sustainable method of fishing. Due to the time it takes for a crab to regrow lost limbs, however, whether or not the practice represents truly sustainable fishing is still a point of scientific inquiry, and the ethics of declawing are also subject to debates over pain in crustaceans.
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