Paddle-crab
Guides
Ovalipes
paddle crab, lady crab, three-spot swimming crab
Ovalipes is a genus of swimming crabs in the family Ovalipidae, established by Mary J. Rathbun in 1898. The genus comprises approximately 12 extant species distributed across marine coastal waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. Several species hold commercial importance, particularly O. punctatus in East Asian fisheries and O. catharus in New Zealand. Members exhibit characteristic portunid adaptations for swimming, including flattened, paddle-shaped fifth pereiopods.