- "I caught a mitten crab! I'm smitten, crab!" —New Leaf
The Mitten Crab (シャンハイガニ, Shanhaigani?) is a new fish introduced in New Leaf. It is unknown whether it is the same species as the crab in Animal Forest e+. It can be found during fall.
Donating to the Museum
In New Leaf
After donating a Mitten Crab, the sign in the museum reads:
Officially known as the mitten crab, they also go by the name "shanghai crab." They are commonly used in Chinese dishes, which is how most people become familiar with them. Their breeding habits are the complete opposite of salmon in that they hatch in the ocean first. They then move up rivers when they reach adult size, returning to the ocean in order to spawn.
Encyclopedia Information
New Leaf
Gallery
Further information
A Chinese mitten crab in real life
The mitten crab is a medium-sized burrowing crab, named for its furry claws that look like mittens, that is native in the coastal estuaries of eastern Asia from Korea in the north to the Fujian province of China in the south.
Mitten crabs spend most of their life in fresh water, but they must return to the sea to breed. During their fourth or fifth year in late summer, the crustaceans migrate downstream, and attain sexual maturity in the tidal estuaries. After mating, the females continue seaward, overwintering in deeper waters. They return to brackish water in the spring to hatch their eggs. After development as larvae, the juvenile crabs gradually move upstream into fresh water, thus completing the life cycle.
