Native SpeciesRock crab

Cancer irroratus
NOT FOUND by bwad
2011-05-13
Vinalhaven
ID Confirmed
Quality checked by palmer
Peer reviewed by
Field Notes
Going out to haul was fun. We got a lot of duds. Duds are traps that don't get anything.
Supporting Evidence
Photo of my evidence.
I know its not a rock crab because it has really long legs and it is really spiky.
Photo of my evidence.
It is not a rock crab because the body's are not the same. The body is not the same shape and it does not have 8-10 spines on the edge.
Species Observation: Species Looked For
Did you find it?: 
I think I did not find it
Scientific name:
Cancer irroratus
Common name:
Rock crab
Sampling method: 
Just looking around
Trap
Photo of our sampling method.
Place Studied
We\’re sorry, Javascript is required to view the map. You may wish to upgrade to a newer browser in order to view this Google Map.
Map this species
Latitude: 
N 44.036990 °
Longitude: 
W -68.841670 °
Observation Site Information
A photo of our study site.
Name:
bwad's visit to Sands cove
Habitat: 
Coastal - Dock
Trip Information
Name:
Sands cove
Trip date: 
Fri, 2011-05-13 13:00
Town or city: 
Vinalhaven
Type of investigation: 
Species Survey
Ecosystem: 
Coastal
Watershed: 
Penobscot Bay
Sampling Method: 
Just looking around
Trap
Nearest waterbody: 
Penobscot Bay
Time of high tide AM: 
Time of high tide PM: 
Time of low tide AM: 
Time of low tide PM: 

Comments

Submitted by gmri on Tue, 2011-06-07 11:35.

Dr Eayrs says....

These are delicious!

Submitted by Crab Lady on Wed, 2011-05-18 08:10.

Neat crab!

This is a really neat crab. I would agree with the previous comment that this is Lithodes maja. It is found in deeper waters in the Gulf of Maine.

Submitted by gbh on Tue, 2011-05-17 14:39.

Lithodes maja

Hi there,

After a little digging around and some conversations with experts, I'm of the opinion that you caught a Lithodes maja, or northern stone crab. Pretty cool. I've never ever seen one before... neat find!

How deep was the water where you caught this crab?

Submitted by bwad on Wed, 2011-05-18 08:18.

spider crab

We caught it pretty close to shore but the person who brought us out said someone probably caught it out deep and brought it in.

Submitted by gbh on Wed, 2011-05-18 08:41.

maybe moved in

Oh, that helps explain things...

This has been a terrific species observation posting - you saw something pretty unusual, there were some unusual circumstances around it, and as a community we've gotten to the bottom of it. Great work bringing something so interesting to the Vital Signs community!

In the future, consider using the field notes to explain a bit more of what you know about your observation, especially if you see something unusual (and I hope you do!). Science teaches us to question observations that seem unusual - not because they are necessarily wrong, but because there is often something to be learned when stuff isn't exactly as expected. That's when things get exciting!

So thanks for giving us a little excitement and teaching us all something new!

Submitted by gbh on Tue, 2011-05-17 09:32.

curious...

Hi there, bwad

I completely agree with you - the crab in the picture is NOT a rock crab. But neither is it anything I'd expect to see in Maine...

Did you really see this crab in the waters around Vinalhaven? Did you really take the pictures? They don't blow up the way they should when I click on them...

Care to comment and clear things up?

Submitted by bwad on Wed, 2011-05-18 08:22.

spider crab

Yes I did see it in Vinalhaven waters we were on a school field trip. Yes I took the pictures myself. I don't know why it's not working.