🪐 View in 3D Galaxy 📏 View on 3D Scale Stage

🧬 Biological Classification (Kingdom to Species)Chionoecetes opilio

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Malacostraca

Order

Decapoda

Family

Oregoniidae

Genus

Chionoecetes

Species

Chionoecetes opilio

Malacostraca🌊 Marine predator / filter feeder

Snow crab

Chionoecetes opilio (Snow crab · ズワイガニ)

🛡️ Conservation Status (IUCN Red List)NE (Not Evaluated)

Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.

Geological Era

Extant

Diet

Marine predator / filter feeder

Length · Height

16.5cm · No data

Mass · Top Speed

0.5~1.4kg · No data

Habitat & Fossil Locality

Cold waters of the North Pacific, North Atlantic, and Arctic Ocean, on mud and soft sand bottoms at depths of 200–350 m

💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed

💡 The male's maximum carapace width of 165 mm is similar to the length of two credit cards (long side about 8.6 cm) placed end to end, and the maximum weight of commercial males at 1.35 kg is similar to a 1.5-liter bottle of water (Comparison).
💡 Animal Diversity Web explains that this crab is important mainly as food because its meat is sweet, high in protein, and low in fat. After it was judged overfished in 1999, regulations were strengthened to manage it.

Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.

📊 Mass & Speed Index (0–100)

⚖️ Mass Index (Blue Whale ~190 t = 100, log scale)33

Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.

#대게#Chionoecetes opilio

📖 1. Overview

The snow crab is a crab living on cold sea floors of the North Pacific, North Atlantic, and near the Arctic. The National List of Species of Korea records it from the East Sea side of Korea (Hamgyeongbuk-do, Hamgyeongnam-do, Gangwon-do, and Gyeongsangbuk-do).

🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology

The adult carapace is nearly round and slightly wider than long, with tubercles scattered over its flat back. The rostrum is split into two prongs by a V-shaped notch, and the walking legs are flat and long. Males are much larger and have bigger claws.

🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior

Adults eat benthic invertebrates such as shrimp, polychaete worms, bivalves, sea stars, and squid, and also act as scavengers eating dead animals. They migrate to shallower waters to breed and move to deeper waters as they age.

🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea

The National List of Species of Korea states that the snow crab is distributed in Hamgyeongbuk-do, Hamgyeongnam-do, Gangwon-do, and Gyeongsangbuk-do, and records a specimen collected in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do. It is said to live on mud or soft sand bottoms at depths of 200–350 m.