Rhithropanopeus harrisii

Zuiderzeekrabbe

The Zuiderzeekrabbe ( Rhithropanopeus harrisii ) is an originally native to the North American east coast crab. You probably came through the ballast water of ships or fouling of ship hulls to Europe and is now home to, for example, in the Travelodge in Schleswig -Holstein. Making it one of the so-called invasive species.

For the first time the animals were (now IJsselmeer and the Marker lake in the Netherlands) discovered in Europe in 1870 in the Zuiderzee. 1936 this crab was spotted in the North Sea-Baltic Canal and the Flemhuder lake for the first time in Germany. Today's distribution area extends over the central and eastern Baltic Sea, North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. She lives in shallow fresh, brackish and salt water on soft or sandy soils.

The Zuiderzeekrabbe is about 2.5 cm long and its special feature is the bright and different sized scissors. The crab is olive to brownish and some specimens have dark spots on the carapace. This has both sides of the front four teeth round. The front edge is not denticulate, but smooth.

Synonyms for the species are:

• Pilumnus harrisii Gould, 1841
• Pilumnus tridentatus Maitland, 1874
• Heteropanope tridentata Tesch, 1922