''Portunus'' is a genus of
crab
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
which includes several important species for
fisheries
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
, such as the blue swimming crab, ''
Portunus pelagicus
''Portunus pelagicus'', also known as the flower crab, blue crab, blue swimmer crab, blue manna crab or sand crab, ''rajungan'' in Indonesian, and ''alimasag'' in Tagalog, Kapampangan, and Pangasinan, is a large crab found in the intertidal est ...
'' and the Gazami crab, ''
P. trituberculatus''. Other species, such as the three-spotted crab (''
P. sanguinolentus'') are caught as
bycatch
Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...
.
The genus ''Portunus'' contains more than 90 extant species and over 40 further species known only from fossils.
Fossils of crabs within this genus can be found in sediment of Europe, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and Australia from
Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...
to recent (age range: 48.6 to 0.0 million years ago).
Fossilworks
/ref>
The extant species are as follows:
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3399586
Portunoidea
Paleogene genus first appearances
Extant Paleogene first appearances
Decapod genera