Chinese mitten crab: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Chinese mitten crab lives – recorded in 9 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Eriocheir sinensis
Group	Crabs, lobsters & shrimps
Found in	9 countries
Continents	Europe, North America
Class	Crustacean
Order	Decapoda
Family	Varunidae

Where does the Chinese mitten crab live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Chinese mitten crab in 9 countries and territories across Europe and North America. In Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Belgium
Netherlands (introduced)
United Kingdom (introduced)
Germany (introduced)
Sweden (introduced)
France (introduced)
Finland (introduced)
Estonia (introduced)
United States

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the Chinese mitten crab?

The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is a crustacean in the order Decapoda and the family Varunidae, genus Eriocheir. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Chinese mitten crab

Eriocheir sinensis, the Chinese mitten crab (simplified Chinese: 大闸蟹; traditional Chinese: 大閘蟹; pinyin: dàzháxiè; Jyutping: daai6 zaap6 haai5; Shanghainese: du6-zaq8-ha5, lit. big sluice crab; Korean: 참게) or Shanghai hairy crab (上海毛蟹, p Shànghǎi máoxiè), is a medium-sized burrowing crab named for its furry claws, which resemble mittens. It is native to rivers, estuaries, and other coastal habitats of East Asia, from Korea in the north to Fujian in the south. It has also been introduced to Europe and North America, where it is considered an invasive species. The species features on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern. This means that the import of the species and trade in the species is forbidden in all of the European Union.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Chinese mitten crab (revision 1380241429), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q823941 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).