Photo of a Snow Crab Retrieved from http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/

  Habitat

Distribution:

Location of snow crabs in the Atlantic Ocean. Photo edited by the author and retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_Map_flat_Mercator.png on 15 Apr 2012Atlantic Ocean

Snow crabs can be found in the Atlantic Ocean from Maine, north to Greenland.  Majority of the population found in this area are along the Canadian Provinces adjacent to the Gulf of St. Lawrence such as Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Quebec. 
This location is notated by the red circles on the map (left).

Location of snow crabs in Asia circled in red. Photo edited by the author and retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_Map_flat_Mercator.png on 15 Apr 2012Asia

The Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk are homes to the snow crab populations that live off of the Eastern coast of Asia in countries including Japan, Russia, North Korea and South Korea.

This location is notated by the red circle on the map (left).

Location of snow crabs in the United States circled in red. Photo edited by author and retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_Map_flat_Mercator.png on 15 Apr 2012United States

Locations of snow crabs accessible by the United States are found mainly in Alaska.  The Bering Sea (West coast of Alaska), Beaufort Sea (North coast of Alaska), and the Chukchi Sea (Northwest coast of Alaska) are all bodies of water in which Chionoecetes opilio can be found. As mentioned before, there is a population of snow crabs that lives off of the coast of Maine in the Atlantic Ocean.
This location is notated by the red circles on the map (above).

Niche:

Snow crabs populations are found strictly in marine environments, mainly in the Northern Atlantic and Northern Pacific Oceans.  The largest populations of snow crabs are found in areas that have a soft, sandy or muddy bottoms, specifically bottoms that have greater than a 20% mud content.  Chionoecetes opilio also prefer cold water temperatures no higher than three degrees Celcius.  Water depths that this organism is found at range from 40 to 60 meters (130-200 feet) which is primarily dependant upon the location of the prey and the time of the year. 

Muddy Bottom

The soft, sandy and muddy bottom can serve as protection for the snow crab.  When threatened by a predator, the crab can easily burrow into the muddy sand, protecting it from predators.  Major predators of Chionoecetes opilio include: Seals, groundfish, and other snow crabs. 

The soft bottom also serves as a feeding ground for the snow crab.  Chionoecetes opilio are carnivorous and feed primarily on small fish, clams, polychaete worms, brittle stars and small crustaceans.  These organisms can be found along and within the soft substrate at the same depths the snow crab is found.

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