Pea crab

Pea crab

Taxobox
name = Pea crab


image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Pinnotheres pisum" ♂
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
subphylum = Crustacea
classis = Malacostraca
ordo = Decapoda
subordo = Pleocyemata
infraordo = Brachyura
familia = Pinnotheridae

The pea crab is a small crab that lives symbiotically in oysters, clams, mussels and other species of bivalves. The crab is usually about the size of a pea but can grow as large as a small walnut. It is also commonly known as the "oyster crab". Females have a large tail flap that is used to cover eggs attached to the bodies when they are breeding, adding to the spherical appearance.

Although researchers once thought that pea crabs were not harmful to their hosts, they have since found that their activities do cause some damage to the delicate gills of bivalves; and as such, these crabs are now considered parasites.

References

* [http://www.answers.com/topic/pea-crab-2 Answers.com]
* [http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/eco/taxalab/bio2003/fabias/fabias.htm racerocks.com]

See also

* Crustacean


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pea crab — Pea Pea, n.; pl. {Peas}or {Pease}. [OE. pese, fr. AS. pisa, or OF. peis, F. pois; both fr. L. pisum; cf. Gr. ?, ?. The final s was misunderstood in English as a plural ending. Cf. {Pease}.] 1. (Bot.) A plant, and its fruit, of the genus {Pisum},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pea-crab — peaˈ crab noun A little round crab (genus Pinnotheres) that lives symbiotically in lamellibranch shells • • • Main Entry: ↑pea …   Useful english dictionary

  • pea crab — noun tiny soft bodied crab living commensally in the mantles of certain bivalve mollusks • Hypernyms: ↑crab • Hyponyms: ↑oyster crab, ↑Pinnotheres ostreum • Member Holonyms: ↑Pinnotheres, ↑genus Pinnotheres * * …   Useful english dictionary

  • pea crab — any of several tiny crabs of the family Pinnotheridae, the female of which lives as a commensal in the shells of bivalve mollusks. [1830 40] * * * ▪ crustacean  any member of a genus (Pinnotheres) of crabs (order Decapoda) living in the mantle… …   Universalium

  • pea crab — /ˈpi kræb/ (say pee krab) noun a small semiparasitic crab of the family Pinnotheridae, which inhabits the branchial cavities of molluscs and tunicates …  

  • New Zealand pea crab — Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum …   Wikipedia

  • Pea — Pea, n.; pl. {Peas}or {Pease}. [OE. pese, fr. AS. pisa, or OF. peis, F. pois; both fr. L. pisum; cf. Gr. ?, ?. The final s was misunderstood in English as a plural ending. Cf. {Pease}.] 1. (Bot.) A plant, and its fruit, of the genus {Pisum}, of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pea berry — Pea Pea, n.; pl. {Peas}or {Pease}. [OE. pese, fr. AS. pisa, or OF. peis, F. pois; both fr. L. pisum; cf. Gr. ?, ?. The final s was misunderstood in English as a plural ending. Cf. {Pease}.] 1. (Bot.) A plant, and its fruit, of the genus {Pisum},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pea bug — Pea Pea, n.; pl. {Peas}or {Pease}. [OE. pese, fr. AS. pisa, or OF. peis, F. pois; both fr. L. pisum; cf. Gr. ?, ?. The final s was misunderstood in English as a plural ending. Cf. {Pease}.] 1. (Bot.) A plant, and its fruit, of the genus {Pisum},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pea coal — Pea Pea, n.; pl. {Peas}or {Pease}. [OE. pese, fr. AS. pisa, or OF. peis, F. pois; both fr. L. pisum; cf. Gr. ?, ?. The final s was misunderstood in English as a plural ending. Cf. {Pease}.] 1. (Bot.) A plant, and its fruit, of the genus {Pisum},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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