Oregoniidae

Family: Oregoniidae

Group: Marine Invertebrate, Species

Scientific Name	Common Name	Summary
Chionoecetes angulatus	Triangle Tanner crab	The triangle Tanner crab is the deepest living of our Tanners, always below 100 meters and most often deeper than 400 meters. This species and the closely related Grooved Tanner crab (Chionoecetes tanneri) are distinct in having sharp spines on the antero-lateral margin on the carapace and a distinct groove in the center of the carapace toward the back. This species can be distinguished from Grooved Tanner crab (Chionoecetes tanneri) due to a wide groove on the back center of the carapace and a single large spine on the back lateral margin of the carapace.
Chionoecetes bairdi	Tanner crab	The commercially important Tanner crab is the target of a very large Alaska fishery. Juveniles are sometimes common in the low intertidal, however adults are typically encountered from 10 to 100 meters. It is common to find molts washed up in estuaries, as like many crabs these tend to molt at the same time. Closely related to the snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio (not found in SE Alaska), C. bairdi differs in having red eyes and the rostrum angles upward in profile. Where the two species co-occur in the Aleutians, hybrids are common.
Chionoecetes tanneri	Grooved Tanner crab	One of the 'grooved tanner crabs' like the closely related Triangle Tanner crab (Chionoecetes angulatus), this species is also found in deep water most often below 100 meters. The grooved tanner crab can be distinguished from C. angulatus by having a narrow groove on the center posterior portion of the carapace and having two large spines at the posero-lateral margin of the carapace/
Hyas lyratus	Lyre crab	The lyre crab is a common low intertidal and subtidal species. Superficially similar to the related Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi), the lyre crab has a carapace distinctly longer than wide rather than subequal or slightly wider than long. Another species, Hyas coarctus, is common in the northern Gulf of Alaska and may range further south (this species is listed in the distribution database from North Pacific Groundfish Observer program as occurring throughout SE Alaska).
Oregonia gracilis	decorator crab	This common species can be hard to detect, due to its decorations. Many individuals only have a couple of small pieces of algae growing from the space between their eyes, but some are completely covered on the back. It can often be found in the spot where big rock meet the gravel, at low tide.