Phrase guide

butterfly crab

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A species of shallow-water king crab (Cryptolithodes typicus) native to coastal regions of the northeastern Pacific Ocean

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Hart, Josephine F. L. (23 May 1965), “Life History and Larval Development of Cryptolithodes typicus Brandt (Decapoda, Anomura) from British Columbia”, in Crustaceana, volume 8, number 3, →DOI, →JSTOR, pages 255–276: “The turtle or butterfly crab, Cryptolithodes typicus Brandt, 1849, is a crustacean of [...] the family Lithodidae.”
  • Fretwell, Kelly; Starzomski, Brian (2015), “Butterfly crab • Cryptolithodes typicus”, in Biodiversity of the Central Coast, archived from the original on 06 Apr 2018: “The butterfly crab's range extends from northern Alaska to southern California.”

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

The nickname "butterfly crab" refers to the crab's butterfly-shaped carapace.