Oyster crab


The oyster crab is a small, whitish or translucent crab in the family Pinnotheridae.

Ecology

It is less than half an inch across, and lives inside the gills of an oyster or a clam. It uses the oyster for protection and lives on the food that the oyster gets for itself. It is found in oysters in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Distribution

Zaops ostreus is found along the eastern seaboards of North America and South America, from Massachusetts to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.