Add to collection
  • + Create new collection
    • A female pea crab inside an opened male mussel.
    Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato Published 14 June 2013 Size: 37 KB Referencing Hub media

    A female pea crab inside an opened male mussel. Pea crabs live alone within mussels throughout their adult lives. Female pea crabs never leave their mussel hosts, while males leave only to fertilise the eggs of a female within another mussel.

      Appears in

      ARTICLE

      Farming green-lipped mussels – introduction

      Green-lipped mussels (kūtai, Perna canaliculus) are endemic to New Zealand. Discover how these mussels are farmed, and how a tiny parasitic crab affects the mussel industry. New Zealand’s unique ...

      READ MORE
      MORE
      Add to favourites
      Add to collection
    1. + Create new collection
      2. ARTICLE

      Life of a pea crab

      The New Zealand pea crab (Nepinnotheres novaezelandiae) is a parasite that spends its adult life within a mussel shell. However, the larval stages of its life cycle take place in the open ocean ...

      READ MORE
      MORE
      Add to favourites
      Add to collection
    2. + Create new collection
        3. Go to full glossary
        Download all
        Email Us

        See our newsletters here.