A medium sized crab with distinctive bright red eyes. Their bodies are covered in short hairs, giving them a velvet appearance. velvet swimming crabs have blue lines on their legs and blueish tips to their strong claws.

Behaviour

The velvet swimming crab comes exactly as advertised. Their body is covered in short hairs that give a velvet appearance and are soft to the touch, just like velvet. Like all swimming crabs, their rear-most legs are flattened like paddles, helping them swim effectively. They are speedy underwater and will catch swimming prey like fish and prawns, as well as munching on easier catches like worms, clams and sea snails.

Size

Shell width: up to 10cm across

Status

Common

Distribution

Found on all UK coasts.

When to see

January to December

Facts

The velvet swimming crab is also known as “Devil crab”. Whether they got this name from their red eyes or from their feisty behaviour, we’re not sure – but we do know that we wouldn’t put our fingers anywhere near their claws!