The common and familiar edible crab is easily identified by its large black-tipped toothed pincers and characteristic 'pie-crust' edging (3). It is the largest crab in Britain, and the heavy oval-shaped body is reddish-brown in colour (4). Although most individuals measure around 15 cm in width (3), a specimen in the Natural History Museum in Paris has a width of 28.5 cm (5).