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Atlantic Mud Crab
Sometimes referred to as the black-fingered mud crab.

Range: Coast of MA to Brazil, Island of Bermuda

Characteristics
P. herbstii posses a olive-brown to slate-grey trapezoidal carapace that is around 40-64 mm wide. The length of its carapace is generally two-thirds long as it is wide. Behind the eye sockets there are five ridges or "teeth" along the lateral margins. The first two teeth on the margins may be separate from the rest. The claw tips on the Atlantic mud crab are brown or black, hence where the common name originated. The two claws are slightly unequal with the larger one bearing a large white tooth at the base of the cutting edge. P. herbstii has four pairs of slender legs that are covered in hair.

Atlantic mud crabs reach sexual maturity at around two years of age. The females carry the eggs on their abdomen until they hatch into the crab's larval stage, nauplia. In this larval stage the crabs float through the water like plankton and to do not resemble general crab morphology. Over 12 to 15 days the nauplia continues to grow and molts four times. After this stage the young crab develops fully functional claws and settles to the sea floor.

Habitat
The Atlantic mud crab is a dominant crab in the salt marshes where it feeds on oysters, polychaetes, mussels, marsh periwinkles and smaller crustaceans. They prefer to live near oyster shells or stones in muddy sediments. They prefer moderately brackish waters and can be found in depths from intertidal waters to seventy feet (22m) deep. P. herbstii are commonly found in large quantities of sponges and seaweed beds, and under shells and stones where they seek protection from predators.