- Oyster crab
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Oyster crab 
Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Crustacea Class: Malacostraca Order: Decapoda Infraorder: Brachyura Family: Pinnotheridae Genus: Zaops Species: Z. ostreus Binomial name Zaops ostreus
(Say, 1817) [1][2]Synonyms Pinnotheres ostreum Say, 1817
The oyster crab, Zaops ostreus, is a small, whitish or translucent crab in the family Pinnotheridae. It is less than half an inch across, and lives inside the gills of an oyster or a clam.[3] It uses the oyster for protection and lives on the food that the oyster gets for itself. It is found in oysters in the North Atlantic Ocean.[3] The crabs are eaten as a delicacy.[4]
References
- ^ "Zaops ostreum (Say, 1817)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=621737. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
- ^ P. K. L. Ng, D. Guinot & P. J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world". Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 17: 1–286. http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s17/s17rbz.pdf.
- ^ a b Paul A. Sandifer (1972). "Growth of young oyster crabs, Pinnotheres ostreum Say, reared in the laboratory". Chesapeake Science 13 (3): 221–222. doi:10.2307/1351069.
- ^ "The Oyster Crab Salad" (PDF). New York Times. March 20, 1893. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=2&res=9902EEDA1F3FEF33A25753C2A9659C94629ED7CF&oref=slogin&oref=slogin. Retrieved January 27, 2008.
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