Size:
The maximum shell width for the male is 16.5 cm, the female a maximum of 10 cm.
Levested:
Snow crabs prefer sandy or muddy bottoms at depths from 20 to 1,200 m. Most are found between 70 - 280 m.
Distribution:
Northwest Atlantic and North Pacific. The snow crab prefers water temperatures below 3°C.
Food:
The snow crab eats benthic animals such as crustaceans, polychaetes, mussels, echinoderms and carrion.
The snow crab has a high reproductive potential. Each individual female can produce up to 150,000 eggs each year. They mate in late winter or early spring, and the female crabs incubate until hatching just before the next mating. The larvae live pelagically for two to three months before settling on the bottom in September/October.
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