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  3. Carcinus aestuarii

Carcinus aestuarii

Basic information
Scientific name Carcinus aestuarii (No picture)
Common names Mediterranean green crab
Higher taxon Portunidae, Decapoda, Malacostraca, Arthropoda
Natural range Mediterranean Sea, Canary Islands.
Habitat Rock reef, lagoon, salt marsh, etc. of river mouse and inner bay. Off shore in reproductive season.
Invasion information
Range in Japan Tokyo Bay (Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa Prefs.), Osaka Bay (Osaka and Hyogo Prefs.), Ise Bay (Aichi Pref.), Lake Hamana (Shizuoka Pref.), and Dokai Bay (Fukuoka Pref.). Range in Japan
Origin Unknown.
Date The first record was in 1984 at a beach of Futtsu, Chiba Pref. Recorded in Osaka and Dokai Bay in 1990s, and in Lake Hamana, Ise Bay, and Seto Inland Sea in 2000s.
Route Accidental: Hitchhiking on ballast water or possibly sea chest. Hitchhiking on sea chest by a congener C. maenus was recorded.
Impact Potentially: Predation on native molluscs and competition with native crabs.
Native organism(s) affected: Native molluscs and crabs.
Regulation in Japan Release of this species is prohibited in Aichi Prefecture (29 Mar 2012).
Introduced range in other countries None.
Reference Notes
  • Chen et al. (2003) Dispersion of the Exotic Crab, Carcinus aestuarii, in Japan. Cancer. 12:11-13 (in Jpn)
  • DECO (ed) (2006) Dictionary of Alien Species. Tokyo-Shoseki. (in Jpn)
  • Iwasaki et al. (2004) Human-mediated introduction and dispersal of marine organisms in Japan: Results of a questionnaire survey by the committee for the preservation of the natural environment, the Japanese association of benthology. Japanese Journal of Benthology. 59:22-44 (in Jpn with English abstract)
  • Ecol Soc Japan (ed) (2002) Handbook of Alien Species in Japan. Chijin-Shokan. (in Jpn)
  • JWRC (ed) (2008) A Photographic Guide to the Invasive Alien Species in Japan. Heibonsha. (in Jpn)
  • Otani (2004) Introduced marine organisms in Japanese coastal waters, and the processes involved in their entry. Japanese Journal of Benthology. 59:45-57 (in Jpn with English abstract)
  • Usami et al. (2011) Repeated outbreaks of the Mediterranean green crab, in Tokyo Bay. Bull Biogeogr Soc Japan. 66, 93-98 (in Jpn with English abst)
 100 of the Japan’s Worst Invasive Alien Species

Outbreak of this species occurred in 1995 to 1999 at Tokyo Bay. An author reported another outbreak seemed to occur in 2010 at Tokyo Bay.