Editing Cancer pagurus (section)

==Lifecycle==
Reproduction occurs in winter; the male stands over the female and forms a cage with his legs protecting her while she [[ecdysis|moults]].<ref name="ARKive"/> [[Internal fertilization|Internal fertilisation]] takes place before the hardening of the new carapace, with the aid of two abdominal appendages (gonopods). After mating, the female retreats to a pit on the sea floor to lay her eggs.<ref name="ARKive"/> Between 250,000 and 3,000,000 fertilised eggs<ref name="BIOTIC">{{cite web |url=http://www.marlin.ac.uk/biotic/browse.php?sp=4129 |title=Species Information for ''Cancer pagurus'' |work=Biological Traits Information Catalogue |publisher=Marine Life Information Network |access-date=August 11, 2010}}</ref> are held under the female's abdomen up to eight months until they hatch.<ref name="ARKive"/>

[[File:Cancer pagurus (eggs).jpg|thumb|left|A female edible crab with eggs on scrap]]
The first developmental stage after hatching is a [[plankton]]ic larva (1&nbsp;mm) called the [[zoea]] that develops into a [[postlarva]] ([[megalopa]]), and finally a juvenile.<ref name="Eaton">{{cite journal |author1=D. R. Eaton |author2=J. Brown |author3=J. T. Addison |author4=S. P. Milligana |author5=L. J. Fernand |year=2003 |title=Edible crab (''Cancer pagurus'') larvae surveys off the east coast of England: implications for stock structure |journal=[[Fisheries Research]] |volume=65 |issue=1–3: Life Histories, Assessment and Management of Crustacean Fisheries |pages=191–199 |editor1=Oliver Tully |editor2=Juan Freire |editor3=Julian T. Addison |doi=10.1016/j.fishres.2003.09.036}}</ref> The first juvenile stage is characterised by a well-developed abdomen, which in time becomes reduced in size and folded under the sternum. Juveniles settle to the sea floor in the [[intertidal zone]], where they stay until they reach a [[carapace]] width of {{convert|60|–|70|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}}, and then migrate to deeper water.<ref name="BIOTIC"/> The growth rate in males slows from an increase in carapace width of 10&nbsp;mm per year before it is 8 years old, to 2&nbsp;mm per year thereafter.<ref name="BIOTIC"/> Females grow at about half the rate of males,<ref name="BIOTIC"/> probably due to the energetic demands of egg laying. [[Sexual maturity]] is reached at a carapace width of {{convert|127|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} in females, and {{convert|110|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} in males.<ref name="ARKive"/> [[Longevity]] is typically 25–30&nbsp;years, although exceptional individuals may live up to 100&nbsp;years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fishonline.org/fish/crab-brown-or-edible-214 |title=Edible crab, ''Cancer pagurus'' |work=Fishonline |publisher=[[Marine Conservation Society]] |access-date=August 23, 2010}}</ref>