SIZE:
10 cm for females, 14 cm for males.
LIFE EXPECTANCY:
Approximately 7 years.
LIFE CYCLE:
Sexual maturity is reached when males are 7 cm and 6 cm for females.
Reproduction occurs in autumn. Females lay thousands of eggs, which they carry at the level of their abdomen for a period of approximately 10 months (up to 500,000 eggs for a 9 cm female).
The following summer, after 10 months, the eggs hatch and the larvae remain in the water column. In September, they become tiny crabs and move to shallow depths. Crabs grow through moulting, which starts at the larval stage.