---
title: "Dungeness Crab"
description: "Metacarcinus magister — Andere dieren. The Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) is a species of crab in the family Cancridae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/dungeness-crab
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Dungeness Crab

> Metacarcinus magister — Andere dieren. The Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) is a species of crab in the family Cancridae.

- Scientific name: *Metacarcinus magister*
- Category: `other` (Andere dieren)
- Habitats: `sea` (Zee en kust)
- iNaturalist observations: 15805
- Wikidata: [Q1936093](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1936093)
- iNaturalist taxon: [63697](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/63697)

## Names

- en: Dungeness Crab
- es: Cangrejo Dungeness
- fr: Crabe dormeur
- pt: Sapateira-do-pacífico

## Countries with the most observations

US (10048), CA (4833)

## Summary

The Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) is a species of crab in the family Cancridae. It makes up one of the most important seafood industries along the west coast of North America. Its typical range extends from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to Point Conception, near Santa Barbara, California. Dungeness typically grow 6–7 in (150–180 mm) at their widest point and inhabit eelgrass beds and sandy bottoms. Its common name comes from the Dungeness Spit in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington state, United States, which shelters a shallow bay inhabited by the crabs.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeness_crab

## Photo

![Dungeness Crab](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/dungeness-crab/medium.jpg)

Photo: Andrea Kautz · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219910046

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/dungeness-crab?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).