Brown crab
Cancer pagurus Linnaeus, 1758
Status not recordedcrabs and lobsters
The brown crab (Cancer pagurus) is a crustacean in the crabs and lobsters subgroup, belonging to the family Cancridae. It is also called the edible crab or European edible crab.
Quick facts about the brown crab
The species was named by Linnaeus, 1758, and is placed in the order Decapoda, suborder Pleocyemata, superfamily Cancroidea and subfamily Cancrinae. The Catalogue of Life lists the brown crab as living, not extinct.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- arthropodssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- rockysrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
What eats the brown crab?
Species recorded in published studies and collections.
Recorded predators of the brown crab
23 on record
- Thornback ray Raja clavata3 sources
- European conger Conger conger3 sources
- Catfish Anarhichas lupus3 sources
- European herring gull Larus argentatus8 sources
- Atlantic cod Gadus morhua4 sources
- Great black-backed gull Larus marinus4 sources
- Corkwing Symphodus melops3 sources
- School shark Galeorhinus galeus2 sources
- Dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula2 sources
- Merlangius Merlangius merlangus2 sources
- European plaice Pleuronectes platessa2 sources
- Bib Trisopterus luscus2 sources
Show 11 more
- Garfish Belone belone2 sources
- Rock cook Centrolabrus exoletus2 sources
- Goldsinny Ctenolabrus rupestris2 sources
- Grey gurnard Eutrigla gurnardus2 sources
- Rockling Gaidropsarus vulgaris2 sources
- Wrasse Labrus bergylta2 sources
- Dab Limanda limanda2 sources
- Lemon dab Microstomus kitt2 sources
- Striped red mullet Mullus surmuletus2 sources
- European flounder Platichthys flesus2 sources
- Common sole Solea solea2 sources
Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).
References for these records
- Jacob et al. (2015)
- Globi
- Pinnegar, J.K. (2014). DAPSTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Version 4.7. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. February 2014, 39pp. Accessed at <https://www.cefas.co.uk/umbraco/CefasPlugins/DapstomSurface/Download?searchType=predator&s
- Pinnegar, J.K. (2014). DAPSTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Version 4.7. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. February 2014, 39pp. Accessed at <https://www.cefas.co.uk/umbraco/CefasPlugins/DapstomSurface/Download?searchType=predator&s
- Pinnegar, J.K. (2014). DAPSTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Version 4.7. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. February 2014, 39pp. Accessed at <https://www.cefas.co.uk/umbraco/CefasPlugins/DapstomSurface/Download?searchType=predator&s
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/37271210
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/165485903
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/293907135
- Pinnegar, J.K. (2014). DAPSTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Version 4.7. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. February 2014, 39pp. Accessed at <https://www.cefas.co.uk/umbraco/CefasPlugins/DapstomSurface/Download?searchType=predator&s
- Pinnegar, J.K. (2014). DAPSTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Version 4.7. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. February 2014, 39pp. Accessed at <https://www.cefas.co.uk/umbraco/CefasPlugins/DapstomSurface/Download?searchType=predator&s
- Pinnegar, J.K. (2014). DAPSTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Version 4.7. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. February 2014, 39pp. Accessed at <https://www.cefas.co.uk/umbraco/CefasPlugins/DapstomSurface/Download?searchType=predator&s
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/162940510
Photos of the brown crab
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the brown crab live?
Not recorded
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the brown crab as introduced in 1 country.
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
What is the brown crab?
Cancer pagurus, commonly known as the edible crab or brown crab, is a species of crab found in the North Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and perhaps the Mediterranean Sea. It is a robust crab of a reddish-brown colour, having an oval carapace with a characteristic "pie crust" edge and black tips to the claws. A mature adult may have a carapace width up to 25 centimetres (10 inches) and weigh up to 3 kilograms (6+1⁄2 pounds). C. pagurus is a nocturnal predator, targeting a range of molluscs and crustaceans. It is the subject of the largest crab fishery in Western Europe, centred on the coasts of Ireland and Britain, with more than 60,000 tonnes caught annually.
From the Wikipedia article “Cancer pagurus” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cancer_pagurus&oldid=1383581642), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the brown crab endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the brown crab classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classMalacostraca
- orderDecapoda
- familyCancridae
- genusCancer
- SpeciesCancer pagurus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Cancer fimbriatus, Cancer incisocrenatus, Cancer luederwaldti, Megalopa armata, Megalops armata, Platycarcinus pagurus
Other names and names in other languages (37)
- Edible crabEnglish
- Edible crabEnglish
- European edible crabEnglish
- ÑoclaAsturian
- BouCatalan
- krab německýCzech
- taskekrabbeDanish
- TaschenkrebsGerman
- ΣιδεροκάβουραςGreek
- Κάβουρας ΑτλαντικούGreek
- bueySpanish
- Buey de marSpanish
- Cangrejo pardoSpanish
- IsotaskurapuFinnish
- dormeurFrench
- Crabe dormeurFrench
- crabe-dormeurFrench
- tourteauFrench
- BoiGalician
- nagy tarisznyarákHungarian
- Granciporro atlantico europeoItalian
- taskekrabbeNorwegian Bokmål
- zeekrabDutch
- grote krabDutch
- grote noordzeekrabDutch
- hoofdkrabDutch
- NoordzeekrabDutch
- slagkrabDutch
- steenkrabDutch
- toogkrabDutch
- taskekrabbeNorwegian Nynorsk
- sapateiraPortuguese
- CaranguejolaPortuguese
- Большой сухопутный крабRussian
- govdagazzareabbaNorthern Sami
- krabbaSwedish
- krabbtaskaSwedish
Relatives of the brown crab
Other species in the same genus Cancer.
Jonah crab
Cancer borealis
Rock crab
Cancer irroratus
Red crab
Cancer productus
Toothed rock crab
Cancer bellianus
Chilean crab
Cancer plebejus
CompareBrown crab vs Jonah crabBrown crab vs Rock crabBrown crab vs Red crabBrown crab vs Toothed rock crab
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the brown crab?
The brown crab is a crustacean in the crabs and lobsters subgroup, in the family Cancridae.
What is the scientific name of the brown crab?
The scientific name of the brown crab is Cancer pagurus, in the genus Cancer.
Who named the brown crab and when?
The brown crab was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
What other names does the brown crab have?
The brown crab is also called the edible crab or the European edible crab.
Is the brown crab extinct?
No, the brown crab is living, not extinct, according to the Catalogue of Life.
What order does the brown crab belong to?
The brown crab belongs to the order Decapoda, in the class Malacostraca and phylum Arthropoda.
Is the brown crab an invasive species?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the brown crab as introduced in 1 country: Norway, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.
What eats the brown crab?
Animals recorded preying on the brown crab include thornback ray, european conger, catfish and european herring gull. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products · CC0 1.0 · 0.11
Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference. - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Brown crab (Cancer pagurus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cancer-pagurus
“Brown crab (Cancer pagurus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cancer-pagurus.
@misc{cancer_pagurus_2026,
title = {Brown crab (Cancer pagurus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cancer-pagurus},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}