- blue crab
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an edible crab, Callinectes sapidus, having a dark green body and bluish legs, found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America.[1880-85, Amer.]
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Any member of a genus (Callinectes) of decapods, particularly C. sapidus and C. hastatus, common edible crabs of the western Atlantic coast prized as delicacies.Their usual habitats are muddy shores, bays, and estuaries. The blue crab shell, greenish on top and dingy white below, is about 3 in. (15–18 cm) long. The legs are bluish. The chelae, or pincers, are large and somewhat unequal in size, and the fifth pair of legs is flattened for swimming. Blue crabs are scavengers.
Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus)John H. Gerard from the National Audubon Society Collection/Photo ResearchesEB Inc.* * *
(genus Callinectes), any of a genus of crustaceans of the order Decapoda (phylum Arthropoda), particularly Callinectes sapidus and C. hastatus, common edible crabs of the western Atlantic coast that are prized as delicacies. Their usual habitat is muddy shores, bays, and estuaries.The shell, greenish on top and dingy white below, is about 7.5 cm (3 inches) long and 15 to 18 cm wide; the legs are bluish. A distinctive, large, sharp spine projects from each side. Eight short spines occur on each side between the large spine and the eyes. The chelae, or pincers, are large and somewhat unequal in size. The fifth pair of legs is flattened for swimming. The crabs are scavengers, feeding on the bodies of dead animals. At spawning time the female's abdomen swells with eggs. Larvae hatch two weeks after fertilization and pass through a number of zoeal, or early larval, stages before metamorphosing into conventional crablike forms.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
