Crab XXL (Calappa Lophos) in luxury display case with black background.

Although we pack crabs extra well, they remain very fragile. Shipping is therefore at your own risk. Crabs (Brachyura) are a group of crustaceans belonging to the order decapods (Decapoda). The scientific name Brachyura literally means short tail and refers to the abdomen folded under the abdominal shield, so that crabs, unlike other crustaceans, have no visible tail. Crabs are also called short-tailed or bob-tailed crabs because of their reduced abdomen. The underside of a crab is actually its tail and this is an important difference from all other crustaceans. Crabs are further characterized by a flattened body that is wider than it is long and surrounded by a back armor, the eyes clearly set on stalks and the front pair of legs converted into prehensile claws. Other notable features include lateral locomotion and the ability to dig in quickly. Most crabs live in the sea and can be found from the deep sea to the intertidal zone. A number of species have left the sea and adapted to life in freshwater. Some species are mainly found on land, mostly in moist forests. However, crabs depend on surface water for reproduction. Many species that do not live in the sea have to migrate to the sea every year to lay their eggs. The larvae of crabs are microscopic and live as plankton in the open sea, the adult crabs almost always live on the seabed. There are about 8600 described species, which are distributed all over the world. In Belgiumë and the Netherlands, 38 species are known that are native or are found more sporadically, see the list of crabs in Belgiumë and the Netherlands. Crabs, like all crustaceans, have a segmented body and legs. The physique of crabs is characteristic in that the body is broad and flat and appears to lack an abdomen. In fact, crabs are measured differently compared to other animals due to their different body shape; not the length from head to tail is used as a measure, but the width of the carapace. Most crabs grow to a medium size, about 5 to 15 centimeters. Many species remain smaller and other species can grow quite large. Giant crabs often do not grow any larger than the North Sea crab (40 centimeters) in shell length, but the huge, harvestman-like legs make the animals look dangerous. The scissors are often very powerful. The largest crab is the Japanese giant or spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi), which occurs in the Pacific Ocean around Japan to depths of 300 meters. The crabs have a carapace width of about 35 centimeters, but due to the enormous legs, the wingspan can be about four meters and a 'height' of one and a half meters can be reached. The smallest crabs belong to the pea crabs (Pinnotheridae), they become about one and a half centimeters long. The nail crab (Thia scutellata, family Thiidae) is also a small species that reaches a carapace length of up to 22 millimeters. In crabs, the males are on average slightly larger than the females. Crabs can have the most diverse colors, there are species that are completely white in color, but also black species. A number of species have variegated colors, such as red, blue and purple. An example is the South American species Grapsus grapsus, which has a blue body with a yellow top and bright red legs. Most crabs, however, are well camouflaged and have a color that makes them stand out against the background of the natural habitat. Many crabs are sandy-colored, or have rounded spots that make them hard to see against the gritty bottom on which they live.