The Longest Thread in History

[bloocrab]

...I thought I was BAD!!

...Can you believe theres a crab on the "TOP TEN MOST WANTED" LIST???...


.....Yessiree!!.....THE "CHINESE MITTEN CRAB"....


-------ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS----------

...Since 1990 increasing numbers of mitten crabs have been collected from the intake screens from Lots Road power station, Chelsea. These records indicate that Eriocheir sinensis is now well established in the River Thames and the population is probably increasing. In fact anecdotal evidence suggests that population numbers of this crab in the Thames have increased dramatically in recent years. If continued, such an increase in the Thames Chinese mitten crab population could have potentially harmful environmental effects.

The mitten crab is known to burrow into river banks and therefore may represent a hazard to river and other freshwater engineering projects. The crab is capable of emerging from water and crossing dry land to enter new river systems. This invasion could eventually threaten freshwater habitats currently occupied by populations of our native crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes.

Can You Help?

Our research is ongoing so therefore we would be most grateful for your help. Examples of the type of information we want to know are:


Where and when was the crab seen or caught?
Did you see any other crabs in the same area?
Were they alive or dead?
Do you know what sex they were?
(Males have a V-shaped abdomen and females have a U-shaped abdomen)
What was their approximate size?

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.....According to what I read, they're invading the West Coast right now!!!...