The Chinese name for this species is the pseudo cave green crab, also known as the green crab, red sturgeon, Chinese sturgeon, or mud crab. It belongs to the phylum Arthropoda, order Mollusca, family Crabaidae, and genus Crabapple in the animal kingdom. The Chinese mitten crab is widely distributed in temperate, subtropical, and tropical sea areas. It is found in Guangdong, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Fujian, Taiwan, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and the coastal areas of Jiangsu in China, with Guangdong and Fujian being particularly abundant. It is also found in Vietnam, Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea.