Cancridae

9.9

A family of mostly edible crabs found in cool seas mainly in the Northern Hemisphere

noun
/ˈkæŋkrɪdi/

Specialized

: Cancridae

The family Cancridae includes some of the most commercially important crabs.

Examples

Species within Cancridae are often caught for human consumption.
Researchers are studying how Cancridae adapt to changing ocean temperatures.
The Cancridae family includes various species of crabs.
Many chefs enjoy cooking with Cancridae crabs.
Species within Cancridae are often caught for human consumption during the summer months.
The family Cancridae includes well-known crabs like the Dungeness crab, popular for its sweet meat.
Many chefs enjoy cooking with Cancridae crabs, using them in various seafood dishes.

Surface Forms

Cancridae singular

Cancridaes plural

Morphology

Cancridae = Cancer (opaque) = Cancr + idae

Formed by adding the technical zoological suffix '-idae' to a Latin genus stem to create a taxonomic family name; this specialized formation is not transparently meaningful to general learners.

Etymology

Cancridae comes from the Latin word cancer, which means 'crab' and is the same root as the star sign Cancer, often shown as a crab. The ending -idae is a scientific ending meaning 'family', so Cancridae literally means the 'crab family', which is why it names a group of crabs, many of them eaten by people.