Lady Crab

The Lady crab is a species of crab from eastern North America. It is also known by some other names such as Leopard Crab, Atlantic Leopard Crab, Ocellated crab, Calico crab, Ocellate Lady crab, Sand crab, Calico crab etc. The crab is named so (Lady) mainly because of the beautiful color patterns on the shell.

It generally occurs from Canada to Georgia, and it lives mainly on molluscs such as the Atlantic Surf Clam. It is probably the only Ovalipes species common north of Virginia, being replaced by Ovalipes stephensoni to the south. Read some more information about this crab species below.

Lady Crab Characteristics

The Lady crab has yellow-grey or light purplish carapace, with 'leopardlike clusters of purple dots', and 3-5 spines along the edge behind each eye. Their coloring appears iridescent in the water and under direct sunlight. They have sharp, powerful pinchers which are whitish in color with purple-spotted tips and jagged teeth.

The last pair of legs are modified into paddles and are adapted for swimming. Their tail is tucked underneath the body and lies against the abdomen.

Tail of the male Lady crabs is pointed and narrow, while the tail of the female crabs is shaped like a rounded triangle. The carapace of the Lady crab is slightly wider than long. The carapace is around 8.9 cm wide and around 7.5 cm long. Photo and info from Wikipedia.

leopard crab, atlantic leopard crab, ocellated crab, calico crab, ocellate lady crab, sand crab, calico crab, lady crab, lady crabs, about lady crab, lady crab appearance, lady crab breeding, lady crab color, lady crab characteristics, lady crab eggs, lady crab facts, lady crab for food, lady crab history, lady crab info, lady crab images, lady crab meat, lady crab origin, lady crab photos, lady crab pictures, lady crab rarity, lady crab size, lady crab uses, lady crab varieties, lady crab weight

Diet

The Lady crabs are mostly feed on molluscs, particularly the Atlantic Surf Clam. They are scavengers like most other crabs. And their diet include both dead and live fish, crabs and other invertebrates. They can also rapidly consume small clams and prey upon hard clams.

Breeding

The Lady crab breeds year round. The females use their tails to cover their eggs. The young crabs hatch in the early summer months, beginning their lives as zooplankton, and they settle to the bottom by early fall.

Uses

The Lady crabs are used for food, but they are less popular. Their meat is not considered as tasty as that of other crabs. So they are not harvested commercially.

Special Notes

The Lady crabs are generally found throughout the Bay, on sandy or muddy bottoms and often in shallow waters. They are known for their aggressive disposition and sharp claws.

They are often seen partially buried in sand with only their eyestalks protruding. They will dart out of their hiding place using their powerful paddles to swim after their prey.

They are migratory within Rhode Island waters, and at certain times of the year they make up a large proportion of Rhode Island's overall crab population.

The Oyster toadfish, tautog, striped bass, American lobsters, and other crabs prey upon Lady crabs. It is used for food in some areas. But the meat is not considered as tasty as that of other crabs.

So the Lady crabs are not harvested commercially. However, review full breed profile of the Lady crab in the following table.

Name	Lady Crab
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Malacostraca
Order	Decapoda
Family	Portunidae
Genus	Ovalipes
Species	O. ocellatus
Binomial Name	Ovalipes ocellatus
Other Names	Also known as Leopard Crab, Atlantic Leopard Crab, Ocellated crab, Calico crab, Ocellate Lady crab, Sand crab, Calico crab etc.
Breed Purpose	Food
Special Notes	Prefer to live on sandy or muddy bottoms and often in shallow waters, known for their aggressive disposition and sharp claws, used for food in some areas, but not popular for food because it is not as tasty as other crabs, not harvested commercially
Breeding Method	Natural
Climate Tolerance	Native climate
Body Color	White to yellowish grey, with reddish purple mottled spot over body and claws
Rarity	Common
Availability	North America

Comments

Murray Grey Cattle

The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...

Sorting Cattle

Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...

Cleaning A Cow

Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...

Agerolese Cattle Farming

Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...

Search This Blog