Velvet crab

The velvet crab (Necora puber), also known as the velvet swimming crab or devil crab, is a species of crab from the North-East Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It is the largest of the swimming crab family (Portunidae) found in British coastal waters. It has a carapace width of up to 100 millimetres (3.9 in), and is the only species in the genus Necora.^[1] Its body is coated with short hairs, giving the animal a velvety texture, hence the common name. It is one of the major crab species for United Kingdom fisheries, in spite of its relatively small size.

Velvet crab
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Suborder:	Pleocyemata
Infraorder:	Brachyura
Family:	Polybiidae
Genus:	Necora Holthuis, 1987
Species:	N. puber
Binomial name
Necora puber (Linnaeus, 1767)
Synonyms
Cancer puber Linnaeus, 1767 Liocarcinus puber (Linnaeus, 1767) Macropipus puber (Linnaeus, 1767) Portunus puber (Linnaeus, 1767) Cancer velutinus Pennant, 1777

The velvet crab lives from southern Norway to Western Sahara in the North Sea and in North Atlantic as well as in the western parts of the Mediterranean Sea, on the rocky bottom from the shoreline to a depth of about 65 metres (213 ft). The last pair of pereiopods are flattened to facilitate swimming.