![]() ![]() Predators of snow crab are halibut, skates (especially thorny skate), cod, seals, American plaice, squids, and other crabs. Their primary food include: shrimp, fish (capelin and lumpfish), starfish, sea urchins, worms, detritus, large zooplankton, other crabs, ocean quahaug, molluscs, sea snails and sea anemones. Extended exposure to temperatures greater than 7 ☌ are thought to be detrimental to snow crab. ![]() Larger crab are found at depths from 50 to 300 m and temperatures from -1 to 11 ☌ on the Scotian Shelf. Smaller crabs are found in more complex habitats with shelter. Habitat preferences are soft mud bottoms. Recently, they have been observed and/or introduced into the North and Barents Seas. They also extend from west Greenland down the Canadian Atlantic coast to Nova Scotia. They are found in the Sea of Japan to the Bering Sea (Alaska and British Columbia). Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) is a subarctic species found in the northern hemisphere. They have a maximum life span of 12-13 years. Snow crabs can grow to a maximum carapace width of about 15 centimetres, with males growing more than twice as large as females (females are not harvested commercially for this reason). As they get older, this red will fade to a duller olive shade and their underside will become yellowish. Soon after they moult, snow crabs will be reddish on top and white on the bottom. Snow crabs are spider-like in shape, with a flat, round carapace (shell) and long, slender legs. Snow crabs prefer cold water temperatures and occur at a wide range of depths, from 20 to 2000 metres, most often on sandy or muddy bottoms. The Atlantic variety of snow crab occurs in the northeastern Atlantic, near the west coast of Greenland and south to the Gulf of Maine. ![]()
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