About the Data
Species records include data on invasions history, distribution, ecology, impact, and more. These data were gathered from published literature and targeted surveys. All records have undergone expert review, unless otherwise noted.
Species Profiles
NEMESIS includes detailed information on about 500 species of marine and estuarine of invertebrates and algae introduced to the United States. Each record contains information on taxonomy, distribution, ecology, and impacts, as well as references.
Daily Invader
Eriocheir sinensis
Chinese mitten crab
The Chinese Mitten Crab, Eriocheir sinensis, is native to China where it ranges from the Bohai Sea and the Southern coast of South Korea, south to Macau, near Hong Kong. This crab is catadromous, breeding in brackish-to-marine waters, and moving upstream as a juvenile to mature in fresh water, sometimes up to 1000 km from the sea. It has been introduced throughout Europe and North America. In Europe, it was first discovered in Germany in 1912 and now ranges from Sweden and Finland to the Atlantic coast of Spain and into the Black Sea. It has established populations on the East and West Coasts of US. Its long planktonic stage suggests that ballast water is a likely introduction vector, but some populations may have been introduced through ‘live trade’. Eriocheir sinensis was listed by the Invasive Species Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as one of the ‘100 worst invasive species’. It has had economic and ecological impacts throughout its introduced range.
Daily Invader for 2022-10-02