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Chionoecetes opilio, a species of snow crab, also known as opilio crab or opies, is a predominantly epifaunal crustacean native to shelf depths in the northwest Atlantic Ocean and north Pacific Ocean. It is a well-known commercial species of Chionoecetes, often caught with traps or by trawling.
The generic name Chionoecetes means snow (χιών, chion) inhabitant (οἰκητης, oiketes); [3] opilio means shepherd, and C. opilio is the primary species referred to as snow crab. Marketing strategies, however, employ snow crab for any species in the genus Chionoecetes. The name "snow crab" refers to their being commonly found in cold ...
Chionoecetes opilio is a stenothermic organism, and temperature significantly affects its biology throughout its life history, from embryo to adult. Small changes in temperature (< 2 °C) can increase the duration of egg incubation for C. opilio by a full year. [1]
Snow crab are caught as far north as the Arctic Ocean, from Newfoundland to Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean, and across the Pacific Ocean, including the Sea of Japan, the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska, Norton Sound, and even as far south as California for Chionoecetes bairdi. Fishing for opilio (and rarely bairdi) crab has been the focus of ...
The ocean is separated into layers with the surface layer (or sunlight zone) reaching down to 660 feet. Beyond the sunlight zone lives the Pacific Viperfish. This is known as the twilight zone ...
The oceanic zone is typically defined as the area of the ocean lying beyond the continental shelf (e.g. the neritic zone), but operationally is often referred to as beginning where the water depths drop to below 200 metres (660 ft), seaward from the coast into the open ocean with its pelagic zone.
Chionoecetes bairdi is a species of snow crab, alternatively known as bairdi crab and tanner crab. C. bairdi is closely related to Chionoecetes opilio, and it can be difficult to distinguish C. opilio from C. bairdi. Both species are found in the Bering Sea and are sold commercially under the name "snow crab."
From shallow waters to the deep sea, the open ocean to rivers and lakes, numerous terrestrial and marine species depend on the surface ecosystem and the organisms found there. [1] The ocean's surface acts like a skin between the atmosphere above and the water below, and hosts an ecosystem unique to this environment.