: a catadromous burrowing crab (Eriocheir sinensis of the family Varunidae) native to eastern Asia that has a light brown to olive green carapace and white-tipped claws with distinctive thick patches of setae
called alsohairy crab
Note:
The Chinese mitten crab has been accidentally introduced into waterways of Europe and North America where it is considered an invasive species. It is valued as a food in Chinese cuisine.
Last year, Chinese mitten crabs—an "exotic" crustacean from Asia—overwhelmed government water pumps in the Sacramento River-San Joaquin River Delta during their autumnal spawning migration to San Francisco Bay. At their peak, 20,000 to 40,000 mitten crabs a day clogged the screens to the federal delta pumps …—Glen Martin, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Oct. 1999
She has seen the Chinese mitten crab, a new invader within the past decade, in the Hudson River. It digs burrows in riverbanks, which can speed erosion.—James M. O'Neill, The Record (Bergen County, New Jersey), 14 Apr. 2013
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