Charybdis feriata is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from Japan, China and Australia to Southern Africa and the Persian Gulf.[4] It is an edible crab and because of its large size, high quality of meat and relatively soft exoskeleton, it has a high commercial value. Attempts are being made to farm this crab using aquaculture.[5] In Hong Kong Cantonese it is known as the flowery crab (花蟹).[6] This name probably arises from its red and white colouring when cooked. This species of crab is also known as Charybdis feriatus and Charybdis cruciata,[4] and has also been found in the Mediterranean Sea. The specific epithetcruciata refers to the red cross on the carapace of this species. According to tradition the Spanish Jesuit missionary Saint Francis Xavier saw this crab in Indonesia. "A Ceram, écrit François-Xavier, un crabe sur la plage me rapporta entre ses pinces mon crucifix qu'une tempête avait arraché à mon cou. Depuis, en cette région, les crabes ont un crucifix imprimé sur leur carapace".[7]
Charybdis hellerii
Charybdis hellerii
Charybdis hellerii is characterised by a hexagonal, concave carapace with a mottled brownish-grey colour. This crab originates from the Indo-West Pacific, from the Red Sea to New Caledonia. However this crab has now also successively invaded the Western Atlantic (Florida to Brazil)[8] and the Mediterranean Sea.[9]
Charybdis natator is characterised by a brownish upper surface with some white spots among the wafts or bright red granules. On its under surface it is bluish, mottled with white and pale red.[13] This crab is not a major target for commercial fishing.[14][15]
Charybdis miles
Though Charybdis miles was originally designated as its own species, it now actually refers to a group of different species including C. acutidens, C. meteor, C. riversandersoni, C. crosnieri, and C. sagamiensis.[16] Unlike most portunid crabs, most species belonging to this group inhabit the deep sea.[16]
^K. H. Chu (1999). "Morphometric analysis and reproductive biology of the crab Charybdis affinis (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae) from the Zhujiang Estuary, China". Crustaceana. 72 (7): 647–658. doi:10.1163/156854099503690.
^R. de Ceccatty (1985). L'extrémité du monde. Relation de saint François-Xavier sur ses voyages et sur sa vie. Paris. p. 113.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
