spider crab

spider crab, any species of the decapod family Majidae (or Maiidae; class Crustacea). Spider crabs, which have thick, rather rounded bodies and long, spindly legs, are generally slow-moving and sluggish. Most are scavengers, especially of dead flesh. Majids, a widely distributed marine group, are fished commercially in temperate waters, such as in the North Pacific. Some are quite small; for example, the long-beaked spider crab (Macropodia rostrata) of European coastal waters has a body about...