Corystes: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

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

Scientific name	Corystes cassivelaunus
Group	Crabs, lobsters & shrimps
Found in	9 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Crustacean
Order	Decapoda
Family	Corystidae

Where does the Corystes live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Corystes in 9 countries and territories across Europe.

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 Corystes?

The Corystes (Corystes cassivelaunus) is a crustacean in the order Decapoda and the family Corystidae, genus Corystes. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Corystes

Corystes cassivelaunus, the masked crab, helmet crab or sand crab, is a burrowing crab of the North Atlantic and North Sea from Portugal to Norway, which also occurs in the Mediterranean Sea. It may grow up to 4 centimetres or 1.6 inches long (carapace length). The name "masked crab" derives from the patterns on the carapace which resemble a human face (a case of pareidolia), in a similar manner to heikegani. It is the only species in the genus Corystes.

C. cassivelaunus lives buried in sandy substrates, where it feeds on the infaunal invertebrates such as polychaete worms and bivalve molluscs. It uses its two antennae to form a breathing tube that allows oxygenated water down into the substrate. The chelipeds of males are much longer than the body, while those of females are only about as long as the carapace.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Corystes (revision 1316343634), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q2710027 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).