(Linnaeus, 1758)
Description:
Carapace subglobose, dorsally vaulted, surface with fine pubescence obscuring regions; submedian lobes prominent, median ventrally placed, cervical groove prominent. First segment of antennal peduncle freely moveable, excretory pore conspicuous. Antero-lateral margins of carapace with five teeth, the third obscurely bifid. Chelipeds stout and equal, inner surface of propodus with dense long setae, distally naked; fourth and fifth pereiopods flattened, subdorsal and subchelate. Female chelipeds smaller than in male; male chelipeds robust, coxa of fifth pereiopod with long penis.
Size:
Carapace length up to 53 (75) mm.
Habitat:
Depth range from lower shore to about 8 metres. Not common. Ovigerous in July with late zoeae in September.
Colour:
Pubescence dark brown, naked tips of cheliped propodus and dactylus pale pink or white.
Distribution:
Thames, East Channel, Wight, Channel Isles, Plymouth, Scilly Isles, Bristol Channel, Cardigan Bay, Anglesey, Liverpool Bay.