pea crab

any of several tiny crabs of the family Pinnotheridae, the female of which lives as a commensal in the shells of bivalve mollusks.

[1830-40]

* * *

▪ crustacean

 any member of a genus (Pinnotheres) of crabs (order Decapoda) living in the mantle cavity of certain bivalve mollusks, echinoderms, and polychaetes as a commensal (i.e., on or in another animal host but not deriving nourishment from it). Females of Pinnotheres ostreum, also known as the oyster crab, are found in oysters of the Atlantic coastal waters of North America and are especially abundant in oysters of Chesapeake Bay. The body of the female is pinkish white and up to 2 cm (about 0.75 inch) across. An irregular stripe runs from front to back across the carapace, or back. Males, seldom seen, are smaller, dark brown, and usually free-swimming. The female pea crab holds her eggs with the back legs until they hatch. The larvae leave their molluscan home and swim before settling in the mantle cavity of another bivalve.

      P. maculatus, with a range similar to that of P. ostreum, is found in the shells of scallops, clams, and mussels. P. pisum, found in European coastal waters, lives in mussel and cockle shells.

* * *