2004 in Spain, in the seas of Barcelona, ​​the second in Livorno in 2015 and the third still in Spain, near Tarragona in 2017. Ecology Charybdis feriata inhabits shallow water, on both rocks and sandy bottoms. Mating takes place between a hard-shelled male crab and a soft-shelled, freshly-moulted female crab. The male takes up a guarding "cradle" position before the female moults, straddling her and gripping her with his ambulatory legs. He dismounts while she is moulting, helping her to detach the old shell, before adopting the cradle position once more. Copulation is initiated a few hours later; the male turns the female over with his chelipeds and walking legs. She then positions herself underneath him, but facing in the opposite direction, with her abdomen extended and he inserts his gonopods into her genital openings. This position is maintained for about seven hours, during which time the male may walk around with the female attached. Afterwards the male adopts the cradle position again for a few hours, while she remains inactive until her shell has hardened. Spawning takes place about 17 days later, and as is the case with other crabs, the female carries the fertilised eggs under her abdomen. References Portunoidea Crustaceans described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus