Kingdom animalia
Phylum Arthropod
Class Malacostraca
Crabs are arthropods belonging to the Subphylum (or Superclass) Crustacea, Class Malacostraca and Order Decapoda or Brachyura - which in some classification systems presents itself as Infraorder Brachyura. Such animals have bodies covered by a carapace.
They live in coastal regions around the world, with some species found in mangroves, such as the mangrove crab (Ucides cordatus), the aratu (goniopsis cruentata) and the guaiamum (Guanhumi Cardisoma), which lives on the edges of such an ecosystem. They feed mainly on fish and dead organic matter. The color is variable, but crabs are more easily found in yellow, red, brown and bluish tones.
Very similar to crabs, the difference between them is in their locomotor legs: those of crabs are paddle-shaped, helping in swimming; and in crabs, they appear in the shape of a nail, aiding in terrestrial locomotion.
Such animals are widely used in cooking, in various dishes and appetizers and are important components for generating income for the communities that live there. However, climatic factors, real estate development and the construction of ports in mangrove areas, with the consequent loss of habitats, pollution and capture indiscriminate and non-selective crabs – including the use of their young as bait for fish fishing – can compromise their populations. Regarding this last aspect, Environmental Education works aimed at the sustainability of this activity and guarantees of better living conditions for people who are inserted in such a context are measures that can be very effective.
In October 2010, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa, launched a certification seal, the Caranguejo Verde, for be added to such crustaceans whose capture, storage, transport and sale processes have been carried out under conditions satisfactory. Such certification raises a number of challenges, including the inclusion and empowerment of the human communities involved in the process.
By Mariana Araguaia
Graduated in Biology
