Island County
Whidbey Island Station, WA
Molt Search Report
User Submitted Data
Observation Type: Opportunistic observation
Molts/crabs found: Yes
European green crabs found: Yes
Number of European green crab molts found: 1
Green crab #1
Condition of European green crab #1: Molt
Sex of European green crab #1: No abdomen present
Also submitting Dungeness crab molt data: Yes
Number of Dungeness crab molts found: 3
Sex of Dungeness crab #1: No abdomen present
Unsure about EGC, the carapace is very worn down. But it definitely had the bumpy characteristics. I couldn’t count spines since they were so worn down.
Tidal Overview
5 hours 49 minutes before high tide
Data from NAS Whidbey Island (1.3 miles away)
High Tide (Predicted): 7:28 pm, 5.7' MLLW
Loading NOAA Tide Data…
Weather Overview
Wind Speed: 12.8 MPH
Wind Direction: SSE (151°)
Temperature: 53℉
Rainfall (Calendar Day): 0"
Rainfall (Past 24 Hours): 0.26"
1 Comment. Leave new
Thank you for helping monitor for green crabs with Molt Search! I’m relieved to be able to report that thanks to your clear pictures, we can confidently identify that crab as a native black-clawed crab (Lophopanopeus bellus). They have 3 marginal teeth compared to 5 for European green crab, and their teeth look a bit more worn down in appearance naturally. Here’s a link to our ID guide if you’re interested to see what they look like live: https://wsg.washington.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/WSGCrabTeamIDGuide.23-1.pdf. You’ve done everything perfectly and we’re always happy to take a look at unusual crabs this way, so please continue to keep an eye out and keep the photos coming!