CreatureData

Flying crab

Polybius holsatus (Fabricius, 1798)

Status not recordedcrabs and lobsters

The flying crab (Polybius holsatus) is a species in the family Polybiidae, order Decapoda.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the flying crab

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the flying crab live?

Not recorded

Is the flying 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 flying crab classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classMalacostraca
  4. orderDecapoda
  5. familyPolybiidae
  6. genusPolybius
  7. SpeciesPolybius holsatus (Fabricius, 1798)

Synonyms Liocarcinus holsatus, Macropipus holsatus, Polybius holsatus, Portunus holsatus, Portunus lividus

Other names and names in other languages (16)
  • Common swimming crabEnglish
  • Flying swimming crabEnglish
  • Swimming crabEnglish
  • krab veslonohýCzech
  • glat svømmekrabbeDanish
  • RuderkrabbeGerman
  • crabe nageurFrench
  • slabraaiDutch
  • slätryggad simkrabbaSwedish
  • gemeine SchwimmkrabbeGerman
  • Etrille d'eau froideFrench
  • gewone zeekrabDutch
  • gewone zwemkrabDutch
  • kleine zeekrabDutch
  • porceleinkrabbetjeDutch
  • witte krabDutch

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the flying crab

Other species in the same genus Polybius.

Vernal crab

Polybius vernalis

PolybiidaeNo free photo yet

CompareFlying crab vs Sardine swimming crabFlying crab vs Harbour crabFlying crab vs Marbled swimming crabFlying crab vs Vernal crab

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

What kind of animal is the flying crab?

The flying crab (Polybius holsatus) belongs to the family Polybiidae in the order Decapoda.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Flying crab (Polybius holsatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/flying-crab

MLA

“Flying crab (Polybius holsatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/flying-crab.

BibTeX
@misc{flying_crab_2026,
  title = {Flying crab (Polybius holsatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/flying-crab},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}