The commonly called swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus) is widely distributed within the coastal waters of China and is a commercially important aquatic species due to its high edibility and rich nutrition levels. Previous studies based on P. trituberculatus

Portunus (Portnus) trituberculatus (Miers, 1876) is one of the important commercial crustaceans in the northern East China Sea. Although extensive research on aquaculture of the species is being carried out, the wild stock is scientifically unassessed.

By using six polymorphic microsatellite loci, the population genetic diversity and structure of 120 individuals of Portunus trituberculatus were examined in five wild populations representing different geographical and ecological ranges along the