The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus, from the Greek calli="beautiful", nectes="swimmer", and Latin sapidus="savory") is a crustacean found in the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Coast of Central America and the Gulf of Mexico. On the Pacific Coast of Central America it is largely ignored as a food source as picking the meat is considered too difficult. It is the Maryland State Crustacean and the subject of an extensive fishery. T...
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The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus, from the Greek calli="beautiful", nectes="swimmer", and Latin sapidus="savory") is a crustacean found in the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Coast of Central America and the Gulf of Mexico. On the Pacific Coast of Central America it is largely ignored as a food source as picking the meat is considered too difficult. It is the Maryland State Crustacean and the subject of an extensive fishery. They can deliver an extremely painful pinch and are noted for being particularly aggressive and difficult to handle safely by novice recreational crabbers.
The blue crab is native to the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia to Argentina. It has been introduced (via ballast water) to Japanese and European waters, and has been observed in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea.
The natural predators of the blue crab include eels, drum, rock fish, spot, trout, some sharks, humans, and cownose sting rays. The blue...
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