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Vocabulary Words

  • Exoskeleton – external skeleton that supports and protects an animal’s body.
  • Zooplankton – microscopic and immature animal organisms that drift through the water.
  • Benthos – community of organisms that live on the bottom of the
    ocean, rivers, lakes and streams.
  • Benthic – living on the bottom of oceans, rivers, lakes and streams.

Fun Facts

  • They are not always green! Color can be green, brown or orange depending on where they are on their shed/molt cycle.
  • They are very hardy. They can live for 5 or more days out of the water.
  • They are invasive. They came to this area from Europe around 1817.
  • Females can lay 100,000 or more eggs at a time!
  • Eggs are zooplankton at the start, then become benthic where they
    spend the rest of their life.
  • An easy way to identify and remember the green crab is by the five
    spikes on each side of their eyes. One for each letter of their name
    G-R-E-E-N !
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