black sea red data book - Department of Biology

Pilumnus hirtellus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms: Pilumnus hirtellus Czerniavsky 1884; Cancer hirtellus (L. 1766)
Common names: Engl: Mud crab; Rom: Crabulparos; Russ: Volosaty krab; Turk:
Camur yengeci; Ukr: Volokhaty krab
Order DECAPODA
Family XANTHIDAE
Taxonomic description. A small-sized, hairy crab. Antero-lateral side shorter than
posterio-lateral side. Front with large median split and two lateral, smaller ones, each
with a preorbital spine; both lobes well delimited, toothed. Superior margin of the
orbit without, the inferior and the two edges with a spine. Antero-lateral edge with
four big spines. Chelae unequal; the right one the stronger. Merus short. Carpus
hirsute with tubercles and a big interdistal spine. Hairs and spines all over the body
and palm. Fingers nude, with tubercles. Pereiopods II-V without spine. The other
pereiopods hairy, with long, conical dactylus and terminal craws. Size: length 20
mm; width 28 mm. Colour: carapace and superior side of pereiopods reddish - violet.
Fingers of chela brown. Inferior part of pereiopods ivory. Young less than 5 mm in
size completely white, especially in winter.
IUCN Status
World level:
Black Sea Regional level:
Subregion level: VU
Distribution, Habitat type, Critical habitats, Limiting factors. In the midlittoral
and superior infralittoral, on different substrata; its favourite biotope are stony
bottoms with algae and mussels down to a depth of 10m . Throughout the
Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the North Sea to the Cape
Verde Islands. Threats: frost, storms and pollution of the coastal zone.
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