What is "velvet crab"

Velvet \Vel"vet\, n. [OE. velouette, veluet, velwet; cf. OF. velluau, LL. velluetum, vellutum, It. velluto, Sp. velludo; all fr. (assumed) LL. villutus shaggy, fr L. villus shaggy hair; akin to vellus a fleece, and E. wool. See Wool, and cf. Villous.]

1. A silk fabric, having a short, close nap of erect threads. Inferior qualities are made with a silk pile on a cotton or linen back.

2. The soft and highly vascular deciduous skin which envelops and nourishes the antlers of deer during their rapid growth. Cotton velvet, an imitation of velvet, made of cotton. Velvet cork, the best kind of cork bark, supple, elastic, and not woody or porous. Velvet crab a European crab ( Portunus puber). When adult the black carapace is covered with a velvety pile. Called also lady crab, and velvet fiddler. Velvet dock (Bot.), the common mullein. Velvet duck. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. A large European sea duck, or scoter ( Oidemia fusca). The adult male is glossy, velvety black, with a white speculum on each wing, and a white patch behind each eye.

   2. The American whitewinged scoter. See Scoter.

      Velvet flower (Bot.), love-lies-bleeding. See under Love.

      Velvet grass (Bot.), a tall grass ( Holcus lanatus) with velvety stem and leaves; -- called also soft grass.

      Velvet runner (Zo["o]l.), the water rail; -- so called from its quiet, stealthy manner of running. [Prov. Eng.]

      Velvet scoter. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Velvet duck, above.

      Velvet sponge. (Zo["o]l.) See under Sponge.

n. (taxlink Necora puber species noshow=1), the largest swimming crab found in British coastal waters.

The velvet crab (alternatively velvet swimming crab, devil crab or lady crab), Necora puber, is a species of crab. It is the largest swimming crab (family Portunidae) found in British coastal waters, with a carapace width of up to , and the only species in the genus Necora. The body is coated with short hairs, giving the animal a velvety texture, hence the common name. It is one of the major crab species for United Kingdom fisheries, in spite of its relatively small size.

The velvet crab lives from southern Norway to Western Sahara in the North Sea and north Atlantic as well as western parts of the Mediterranean Sea, on rocky bottoms from the shoreline to a depth of about . The last pair of pereiopods are flattened to facilitate swimming.