兜蟹

Japanese

兜蟹 (kabutogani): a male and female pair of horseshoe crabs.

Kanji in this term
兜	蟹
かぶと Jinmeiyō	かに > がに Jinmeiyō
kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
甲蟹兜蟹鱟鱟魚

Etymology

Compound of 兜 (kabuto, “Japanese war helmet”) +‎ 蟹 (kani, “crab”).[1][2][3][4][5]

First cited in a work from 1666.[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) かぶとがに [kàbútóꜜgànì] (Nakadaka – [3])[3][4][6]
IPA^(key): [ka̠bɯ̟ᵝto̞ɡa̠ɲ̟i]

Noun

兜(かぶと)蟹(がに) • (kabutogani)

[from 1666] Japanese horseshoe crab (Tachypleus tridentatus); (more generally) horseshoe crab

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as カブトガニ.

References

“兜蟹”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
“兜蟹”, in デジタル大辞泉 (Dejitaru Daijisen)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1998, 広辞苑 (Kōjien), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

[KDJ2-1] “兜蟹”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN

[DDJS-2] “兜蟹”, in デジタル大辞泉 (Dejitaru Daijisen)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months

[DJR-3] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[SMK5-4] 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[K-5] 1998, 広辞苑 (Kōjien), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN

[NHK-6] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN