### animal | arthropod | decapod:

Crab
* All crabs are marine.
* All crabs have both a set of antennae and antennules
  - eight regular legs and two specially adapted legs known as chelipeds or claws
  - one pair of chelipeds and four pairs of walking legs
* Many crabs also live in intertidal zones.
* Many crabs are responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning in the southeast Pacific and Australia
  - eat large amounts of fallen mangrove litter while other species eat algae and detritus
  - even carry around small sea anemones as defensive weapons
  - have their eyes on the end of stalks
  - live along rocky shores or sandy beaches, exposed to air much of the time
  - migrate to reproduce
* Most crabs absorb water.
* Most crabs appear in hemispheres
  - are inside oceans
* Most crabs are located in shells
  - worlds
  - scavengers, such as the typical hermit crab
  - avoid predators
  - begin life
  - belong to genus
* Most crabs burrow into muddy sand
  - bury in sand
* Most crabs come from coasts
  - salty sea
  - compete for resources
  - construct burrows
* Most crabs depend on environments
  - die before the onset of a fourth winter, which life span of about three years
  - dig holes
* Most crabs display different movement patterns
* Most crabs drink salt water
* Most crabs eat algae
  - diets
* Most crabs emerge from eggs
* Most crabs enter burrows
* Most crabs excrete urine
  - waste
  - exhibit sexual dimorphism
* Most crabs feed on decay vegetation
  - detrituses
  - hatchlings
  - small fish or worms or else scavenge along the shore or sea bottom
  - give birth to crabs
* Most crabs go into salinity water
* Most crabs go to oceans
  - grow to maturity
* Most crabs has-part claws
  - exoskeletons
  - flesh
  - guts
* Most crabs have ancestors
  - appendages
  - blood
  - claws that are the same size
  - common ancestors
  - grain size
  - hairy claws
* Most crabs have hard outer shells
  - large claws
  - larval stages
  - long tails
  - plates
  - prominent eyes
  - shelf life
  - short tails
  - teeth
* Most crabs hide in burrows
  - cracks
* Most crabs inhabit gastropod shells
  - mangrove areas
  - shelter areas
  - snail shells
  - subtropical areas
  - leap into water
* Most crabs leave inshore water
  - live for years
* Most crabs live in bays
  - enclose habitats
  - harsh environments
  - locations
  - regions
  - sea-water, but there are some who live in fresh water, and some who live on land
  - shallow water
  - shoreline environments
  - the oceans, but many, like the robber crab, live on land
  - vicinities
  - near oceans
  - on sand
  - love food
* Most crabs make crabs
* Most crabs mate in saltwaters
* Most crabs migrate to oceans
* Most crabs occur in habitats
  - moist habitats
* Most crabs possess abdomens
  - bottoms
  - meat
  - relatives
  - soft abdomens
* Most crabs prefer food
  - muddy substrate
  - rocky substrate
  - provide food
* Most crabs reach adulthood
  - full size
  - rely on saltwaters
* Most crabs require food
  - oxygen
* Most crabs respond to lunar phases
  - retain shells
* Most crabs return to food
* Most crabs seek food
  - serve as food
  - shed exoskeletons
  - sit in sand
  - snap claws
* Most crabs stay in positions
  - same positions
* Most crabs survive in presence
  - to adulthood
* Most crabs swim in oceans
  - thrive in environments
* Most crabs use claws
  - crush claws
  - empty shells
  - giant claws
  - wash up on beaches
  - wear shells
* Some crabs adapt to life.
* Some crabs also clamber up the trees, some even forage for insects there
  - live in fresh water , or live completely on land
  - appear in paintings
* Some crabs are located in aquaria
  - member of families
  - attract predators
* Some crabs become feeders
  - ravenous feeders
  - begin reproduction
  - belong to families
  - bury in mud
  - can have positive effects
* Some crabs carry anemones
  - organisms
  - come from families
  - conserve energy
  - defend homes
* Some crabs depend on beaches
  - destroy eggs
* Some crabs develop behavior
  - social behavior
* Some crabs eat algas
  - diatoms
  - fruit
  - macaques
* Some crabs emerge from burrows
  - marsh
  - feed in groups
* Some crabs feed on barnacles
  - bivalves
  - molluscs
  - give birth to offspring
  - go through metamorphosis
* Some crabs go to environments
  - ponds
  - rivers
  - has-part legs
* Some crabs have abdominal flaps
  - cheek pouches
  - chromium
  - gizzards
  - larvae
  - one large claw and one small one
  - ranges
* Some crabs have small flaps
  - triangular flaps
  - smooth carapaces
  - hibernate in burrows
  - hide in structures
  - infect with parasites
  - kill prey
  - leave homes
* Some crabs live along atlantic coasts
* Some crabs live in Liberia
  - burrows on the sandy shore
  - edges
  - estuaries
  - islands
  - same areas
* Some crabs live on bottoms
  - sea bottoms
  - look for food
* Some crabs look like adults
* Some crabs lose abdominal appendages
  - limbs
  - make homes
* Some crabs migrate to beaches
* Some crabs possess anemones
  - antennas
  - discs
  - mangroves
  - membranous discs
  - tips
* Some crabs prefer bottoms
* Some crabs prey on animals
  - live animals
  - provide protection
  - pump water
  - relate to scorpions
* Some crabs require light
* Some crabs return to beaches
  - seek mates
  - sit on legs
  - stay in burrows
  - survive temperature
  - swim in holes
  - take up bottoms
* Some crabs use gills
* Some crabs utilize different habitats
  * They are an extremely successful group, found all over the world. They are basically heavily armoured shell-breakers. Most crabs live in sea-water, but there are some who live in fresh water, and some who live on land. About 7,000 species are known. The World of Animals'
* also attack sand dollars by using their claws to crack open the test at the margin.
* also have similar kinds of shells that cover their bodies
  - special articulating plates around their gills
  - love to pick meat off bones
* apparently consider people as much of a delicacy as people consider crabs.
  - paintings and art work from the ancient world
  - to go through an extensive courtship behavior before mating
* are a Maryland speciality
  - favorite food, which the octopus first kills with secretions from the salivary glands
  - able to cast off appendages voluntarily by muscular action, a process known as autotomy
  - abundant
  - afraid of wolves
* are also abundant in the briny marshes of southern Louisiana
  - in abundance
  - among the most common creatures found along the East Pacific Rise
* are an important part of our eco-system
  - inexpensive source of protein
  - unusual breed of creatures
  - chiefly marine, but some are terrestrial for long periods
  - common predators and scavengers on soft bottoms
  - conspicuous inhabitants of salt marshes
  - crustaceans with five pairs of legs
  - crustaceans, having an exterior skeleton or shell
  - eaten by goliath grouper , which are then eaten by sharks
  - everywhere
  - examples of meroplankton
  - expert at masking and camouflage
  - generally either placed live into the boiling pot or killed just prior to cooking
  - important parts of the mangrove ecosystem playing a key role in the cycling of nutrients
  - invertebrates , animals without a backbone
* are located in baskets
  - beach sand
  - bodieses of water
  - boiling water
  - cartoons
  - chinese restaurants
  - chowders
* are located in coastal areas
  - states
  - cold water
  - cribs
  - delicious meals
  - fancy restaurants
  - fishing boats
  - freezers
  - grocery stores
  - gumbos
  - kitchens
  - lakes
  - maines
  - mouths
  - offices
  - pacific oceans
  - pet shops
  - pots
  - rocks
  - salad
  - sandy beachs
  - seaweed
  - shorts
  - tanks
  - tidal flats
  - tide pools
  - wood
  - mimics and ventriloquists
  - mixed feeders , taking algae and shellfish such as molluscs
  - more likely to die when taken in the early stages of molting for use in peeler operations
  - mostly active animals with complex behaviour patterns
  - often aggressive towards each other and communicate by waving or drumming their pinchers
  - omnivores , they eat almost anything they find
  - one of the oldest species that can be seen throughout the world
  - particularly common
* are prepared and eaten all over the world
  - as a dish in several different ways all over the world
  - quick and can bite or pinch with their claws
  - relatively immobile and easy to spot
  - rowing
  - scavengers that clean the reef floor of dead plant and animal material
  - scavenging omnivores, eating both plants and animals
  - seafood
  - shellfishs
  - skilled at scavenging for food
  - somewhat similar to fish in that they are equipped with gills for breathing
* are the most abundant and important larger invertebrate in mangroves
  - ultimate mothers
  - tiny but visible in pubic hair and on thighs
  - tiny, black insect-like animals which cling to human hair and can cause itching
  - very small but can be seen because they attach themselves to the hair
  - vital to the recycling of nutrients, in particular nitrogen
  - vulnerable during the soft-shell periods
* attack oysters.
* begin adapting to their environment even in the embryo and larval stages
  - life as tiny larvae, then grow rapidly by repeatedly shedding their shells
* belong to a group of animals called crustaceans, which includes shrimp, crayfish and lobsters
* breathe through gills.
  - themselves in mud in winter and emerge when temperatures rise in spring
* can find food using chemical stimuli.
* catch food.
* crawl out of their burrows clawing for remnants of the once alive.
* detect tide.
* dig for different reasons
  - at night and bury their food
  - shrimp and fish
  - starfish meat and other sea animals
* excavate burrows.
* exhibit a wide range of feeding habits such as herbivorous and scavenging tendencies
* feature spines.
* feed by inserting their mouthpieces into small blood vessels in the skin and sucking blood.
  - mollusks they crack with their powerful claws
* fight with eels.
* fight, bite, twist and turn when they are caught.
* grow by molting or shedding their shell
  - molting, during which they discard their entire exoskeleton
  - periodically molting their hard shells
* grow by shedding their old shell, a process called molting
  - shedding, or molting, their hard shells
  - only by molting, shedding their shells and growing new ones
* has-part backs
* have a large shield called an exoskeleton, which covers their entire body for protection
  - set of chitinous teeth in their stomach to aid with digestion
  - tab, or flap to their underside
  - very hard shell and pinchers
  - bristles and hairs which act as touch receptors
* have compound eyes and can see well
  - consisting of several thousand optical units
  - few natural predators due to their protective shell
  - five pairs of jointed legs
  - flatter, broader bodies than do lobsters, crayfish, and shrimp
  - hair on claws and other parts of the body to detect water currect and vibration
  - nine pairs of gills
  - quite a size range in the ocean
* have ten legs including the claws
  - the most compact decapod body form
* have three jaws
  - very distinct phases
  - very short tails
* hibernate during the winter and usually come out when the water warms.
  - faces
  - sections
* inhabit areas
* lay eggs.
* like to bury food
  - do spot of house decorating
  - walk sideways in order to head where they want to go
  - the coral and protect it
* live in the ocean, on land and in trees
  - river banks, lakes, rocks, and in deep holes in the sand
* migrate to habitats
* need air
* normally live in groups.
* often show marked sexual dimorphism.
* play an important role in recycling nutrients in mangrove ecosystems.
  - live, fresh food
* push starfish aside in the process of devouring a dead fish, etc.
* really prefer to have a range with groundcover.
* receive food.
* regenerate claws.
* reproduce by laying eggs.
* roam oceans
* scavenge on giant tubeworms.
* scurry across the sand but often have burrows that they retreat to as well.
* share beaches
  - old exoskeletons
* show movement
  - responses
  - strong responses
* sometimes walk across roads.
* stand their ground.
* start sinking as the tide rolls in.
* suck dark reservoirs.
* tend to be aggressive towards one another, and males often fight to gain access to females
  - move sideways, although they are capable of locomotion in all directions
* to escape predators.
* use their claws to tear anemones apart to eat
  - gills to take oxygen out of the water, much like a fish
* usually eat fish that are too slow or are weakened in any way
  - walk sideways on their five pairs of legs
* wave their pincers in the air as a defense when they are disturbed.
* will have opportunity.
+ Crab, Crabs as food
  * Crabs are prepared and eaten all over the world. In some regions spices improve the culinary experience. In Asia, Masala Crab and Chilli crab are examples of heavily spiced dishes. In Maryland, blue crab is often eaten with Old Bay Seasoning.
+ Crab, Structure and life-style, Body
  * Crabs have very short tails. A crab's tail and  reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax. It is folded under its body, and may not be visible at all unless the crab is turned over. Usually they have a very hard exoskeleton. This means they are well protected against predators. Crabs are armed with a single pair of claws.
  * It is folded under its body, and may not be visible at all unless the crab is turned over. Usually they have a very hard exoskeleton. This means they are well protected against predators. Crabs are armed with a single pair of claws. Crabs can be found in all oceans. Some crabs also live in fresh water, or live completely on land
  * Crabs are omnivores, they eat almost anything they find. Often this is algae, but animal food is essential for its good health and development. They will eat molluscs, other crustaceans, worms, fungi and bacteria
+ Decapod
  * Decapod's are an order of crustaceans in the class Malacostraca. Many familiar groups, such as crayfish, crabs, lobsters, prawns and shrimp are in this order. Crabs are mixed feeders, taking algae and  shellfish such as molluscs. Lobsters eat mostly live prey.