Appearance: This crab is usually green with a patterned shell. Young crabs can be a variety of other colours. There are five "teeth" on each side of the hard shell (carapace).
Depth: Middle to lower shore and below the low tide level.
Feeding: The shore crab is a secondary consumer. It feeds on molluscs and also scavenges on any dead matter on the shore.
Environment: Shore crabs are very common on the rocky shore. They are found under algae and rocks when the tide is out but live right down the shore into quite deep water. They can cope with changes in salinity and may be found up estuaries.
Other facts: Crabs mould in the summer as their hard outer skin can only expand for a short time until it hardens. Shore crabs mate and then females produce around 185,000 eggs which attach to her legs until they hatch.
Classification: The shore crab is an invertebrate animal. It is in the same crustacean group as shrimps and lobsters.