First, take a look at the crab’s claws. There's no difference. Upon locating an available female, the male initiates a protective pre-mating embrace that lasts for several days. Females have two tiny sexual organs, called the gonopores, atop their third set of legs. You can also identify the male crabs by looking at the bottom side or belly of the crab. It’s easy to remember this distinction because, like humans, the females wear “red nail polish”. Just a reminder though, there are very few differences between male and female hermit crabs across all species. Mature females (Sooks) have a rounded apron as in the second picture below. The fact that a hermit crab has to be drawn out of its shell before differences can be spotted, makes talking about general facts about this shy little creature more sensible. The top edges of the claws and upper pincers are prominently sawtoothed, there being more than … It is quite difficult to tell a male hermit crab apart from a female hermit crab. Don’t worry, though! She applies a boston crab to her totally defeated male opponent whilst issuing you a challenge at the same time. Looking back on it I think my brother did it to me on purpose. If you're ever in Hong Kong (or Shanghai) during October/November, you gotta try Shanghai hairy crabs, especially the females. Boston Crab This is at the end of the Scissorvixens tape SVDL-668 You Can't Handle my Scissor starring Naomi. You are correct that the law has changed since this was originally posted. Preview photos and a video clip are available in this topic.Get this video at: Fight Pulse - MX-218. Distinguishing Characters : White-tipped pincers on the claws (chelipeds). The physical signs of change to a peeler are evident in the shell itself as well as the shell color. It is illegal to possess immature female crabs at any time and it is illegal to possess dark sponge crabs from April 1-April 30. (please refer to #3 Sook Crabs). I am a crab fanatic and living in Baltimore crabs are everywhere. Male blue crabs (Jimmies) have a long, pointy apron as seen in the first picture below. Here's a picture showing the difference. The male is on the left and the female Dungeness on the right. Those who prefer males often do so because catching females is controversial in other some other states. At least 11 stages of growth for male crabs are recognized. Male and female New Zealand pea crabs differ in their size, shape and colour. Male blue crabs are prized for picking. Being able to tell your male crabs from your female crabs can come in handy. It is also believed that a male hermit crab has hairy legs, which is most noticeable on the 5th pair of legs. Thus only a female would have the capacity to carry eggs. There are some hermit crab species that form a queue where each hermit crab can take turns trying out a new shell, sort of an open house, if you will. Divided into two groups, hermit crabs can either be marine hermit crabs or land hermit crabs. Look at the underside of the crab. Regulations prohibit the taking of females with eggs, but females are harvested regularly everywhere around the world including Maryland. Male vs Female Crabs. Required fields are marked *. In addition, live females have red-tipped claws, while male claws are blue. Not once I have see them both together and when the female comes close to the male he runs away. Females tend to have denser meat. Eggs are about 0.3 millimetres in diameter. Never ever pull the creature outside its shell by force as it would severely or even fatally harm it. Male vs Female hermit crab Male hermit crabs don’t have legs on their abdomen. When a shell is vacated, other hermit crabs in the succession will check it out in sequence, all lined up according to size. • Males are larger and heavier than females. It has always been a misconception that the size of the pincers, or claws can aid in telling the sex of a hermit crab. No need to wait for a hermit crab to come out of its shell so you can tell the difference – and don’t even think about forcing it out because that poor ‘ol hermit crab would rather get torn apart than be pried out of its humble abode. The hermit crab must be exposed out of its shell to afford a close inspection, unless your hermit crab is carrying eggs, then you most certainly have a female hermit crab. Males have blue claws, and, like most humans, female blue crabs "paint their fingernails" (i.e., the tips of their claws are "painted" red!) 4.Male blue crabs have blue-colored claw tips while their female counterparts have reddish claw tips. A female hermit crab possesses small genitalia called gonopores, which are two tiny holes located at the back of its legs that are nearest to the abdomen. In most fiddler crab species with a “female choice” type of mating system, male territories are clustered and females visit males within these clusters. Your email address will not be published. My family usually buys male crabs so I have limited experience with females vs males but encountered a very heated debate at work today about personal preferences. When these smart little critters outgrow their shell, they need to find a suitable one to move into (called molting). Blue crabs may grow to a carapace width of 23 cm (9.1 in). Still wondering why some prefer one over the other? Without interrupting spawning, it is possible to determine the gender of the horseshoe crab by the size and location. They typically range from 5 ½ – 6 ¼ inches. I believe it was back in 2016. (F) Mature female crabs are exempt from minimum size limit. The females are larger in size than the males and are usually buried in the sand with one or more males surrounding her. 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