Stone Crab
About Stone Crab[]
Found along America's coast from North Carolina to Texas, the stone crab is most prolific in Florida waters. Its name comes from the rocklike, oval-shape shell of this crab, of which only the claw meat is eaten. Because of that fact, fishermen usually simply twist off the claws and throw the crab back to grow new ones. This regeneration process can take up to 2 years of the stone crab's 10-year lifespan. It in no way inhibits the crab's feeding capabilities, as the claws are used for defensive purposes only. Stone crabmeat has a firm texture and a sweet, succulent flavor. It's marketed precooked (usually frozen) because the meat has a tendency to adhere to the shell if frozen raw. Crabs have the unusual ability to cast off their legs or pincers if caught by one leg or experience extreme temperature change. The oval, rock-shaped Florida stone crab lives in southern Atlantic waters and the Gulf of Mexico. Stone crabs are a family of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. Their large size means that many species are widely caught and sold as food. King crab has a domed carapace that is shaped like a horseshoe and a stiff pointed tail; a living fossil related to the wood louse. It has white meat which is extremely sweet and rich. They can grow up to 51 cm, on a diet of mollusks, annelid worms, and other invertebrates. They find these prey under the sand, where they spend most of their lives. In captivity, its diet should be supplemented with meaty items such as pieces of squid. Its mouth is located in the middle of the underside of the cephalothorax. A pair of pincers for seizing food are found on each side of the mouth. King crabs possess five pairs of book gills located just behind their appendages that allow them to breathe underwater.