Nutrition

Red rock crabs are carnivorous scavengers that will eat pretty much anything they can get. Prey consists of barnacles, smaller crabs, various intertidal invertabrates as wells as dead fish. At least 42 prey species have been identified. Larva feed on microscopic plankton.

 

 

They have extremely sensitive chemoreceptors on their antennae and are able to detect amino acid concentrations of both predators and prey. Red rock crabs have powerful crushing claws that enable them to feed on thick shelled snails as well as defend themselves from predators. They use the three appengages closest to their mouth known as maxillipeds to sort food particles and move them to their mouth. Red rock crabs have a complete digestive system with enzymes and digestive glands to break down their food and an open circulatory system powered by a dorsal hear to transport nutrients to their cells.

To learn about the Life Cycle and Reproduction click here!

To learn how to cook crab click here!

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