Larva of a giant spider crab?

Question

I understand that the larval stage of a regular crab is microscopic.

I've been searching around yahoo images (honest) for pictures of spider crab larva but haven't found anything. Does anybody know what they look like or when the spider crab does most of its growing?

Is the larva still microscopic or is it proportionately larger?

Answer 1

The larval stages of crabs are nauplius, zoea and megalopa. Perhaps you'll have better luck if you search for "macrocheira kaempferi zoea" or "macrocheira kaempferi nauplius" or "macrocheira kaempferi megalopa." Also try "macrocheira kaempferi life-cycle."

I don't know for certain but I would imagine that the larval stage of even giant crabs is microscopic. However these are deep-sea crabs so perhaps their life-cycle is different from that of near-shore crabs.

The first link is to some photos of crustacean larvae.

The second link provides information on the life stages of crustaceans.

Good luck finding your critter!