Callinectes Sapidus (commonly referred to as Blue Crab, Atlantic Blue Crab, or regionally as the Chesapeake Blue Crab) is a decapod crab of the swimming crab family Portunidae.
⭐About The Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus)
The crab is native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and around the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Blue crabs live about 3 years and may grow to a width of 23 cm (approximately 9.1 in).
They have 3 pairs of walking legs and their rear legs, that looks like paddles are used for swimming.
Blue crabs are omnivores that eat a varied diet and uses their powerful claws to gather food.
They eat things like snails, oysters and mussels, as well as smaller blue crabs.
Sometimes will actively seek out food or burrow into the sand leaving only their eye visible in wait for a passing meal.
Their shell, called the carapace
The crabs grow by shedding their exoskeleton, or molting, to expose a new, larger exoskeleton. Shell hardening occurs most quickly in low salinity water where high osmotic pressure allows the shell to become rigid soon after molting.
Males and females are easily distinguished by the shape of the abdomen (known as the "apron" and by color differences in the chelipeds, or claws. The abdomen is long and slender in males, but wide and rounded in mature females. Claw color differences are more subtle than apron shape. The immovable, fixed finger of the claws in males is blue with red tips, while females have orange coloration with purple tips.
A female's abdomen changes as it matures, An immature female has a triangular-shaped abdomen, whereas a mature female's is rounded.
Other species of Callinectes may be easily confused with Callinectes Sapidus because of overlapping ranges and similar morphology.
Females mate during this final molt (that is when they are in soft shell condition) and the males will carry the females around to protect them from predators during this time. The females can produce between 740,000 and over 8,000,000 eggs per brood.
They also can store sperm from their mating encounter and spawn multiple times. The eggs are carried under the abdomen until they hatch into larvae. Females carrying egg masses are called sponge crabs.
The eggs of Callinectes Sapidus hatch in high salinity waters of inlets, coastal waters, and mouths of rivers and are carried to the ocean by ebb tides.
Blue crabs are eaten by large fish, birds, sea turtles and by humans. They are caught by both commercial and recreational fishermen and are prized for their sweet and tender meat. When the crab is cooked, it turns to a bright orange-red color.
Callinectes Sapidus is of considerable culinary and economic importance in the USA, particularly in Delaware, North Carolina, Louisiana, the Chesapeake Bay and New Jersey. It is the Maryland state crustacean and the state's largest commercial fishery.
LOCATION:
Find this place on Google Maps.
➤ https://goo.gl/maps/HbK3QJpAYwAXiuWRA
#InJamaica #Jamaica #BlueCrab #BlueCrabJamaica #CallinectesSapidus #Diodontidae
⭐About The Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus)
The crab is native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and around the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Blue crabs live about 3 years and may grow to a width of 23 cm (approximately 9.1 in).
They have 3 pairs of walking legs and their rear legs, that looks like paddles are used for swimming.
Blue crabs are omnivores that eat a varied diet and uses their powerful claws to gather food.
They eat things like snails, oysters and mussels, as well as smaller blue crabs.
Sometimes will actively seek out food or burrow into the sand leaving only their eye visible in wait for a passing meal.
Their shell, called the carapace
The crabs grow by shedding their exoskeleton, or molting, to expose a new, larger exoskeleton. Shell hardening occurs most quickly in low salinity water where high osmotic pressure allows the shell to become rigid soon after molting.
Males and females are easily distinguished by the shape of the abdomen (known as the "apron" and by color differences in the chelipeds, or claws. The abdomen is long and slender in males, but wide and rounded in mature females. Claw color differences are more subtle than apron shape. The immovable, fixed finger of the claws in males is blue with red tips, while females have orange coloration with purple tips.
A female's abdomen changes as it matures, An immature female has a triangular-shaped abdomen, whereas a mature female's is rounded.
Other species of Callinectes may be easily confused with Callinectes Sapidus because of overlapping ranges and similar morphology.
Females mate during this final molt (that is when they are in soft shell condition) and the males will carry the females around to protect them from predators during this time. The females can produce between 740,000 and over 8,000,000 eggs per brood.
They also can store sperm from their mating encounter and spawn multiple times. The eggs are carried under the abdomen until they hatch into larvae. Females carrying egg masses are called sponge crabs.
The eggs of Callinectes Sapidus hatch in high salinity waters of inlets, coastal waters, and mouths of rivers and are carried to the ocean by ebb tides.
Blue crabs are eaten by large fish, birds, sea turtles and by humans. They are caught by both commercial and recreational fishermen and are prized for their sweet and tender meat. When the crab is cooked, it turns to a bright orange-red color.
Callinectes Sapidus is of considerable culinary and economic importance in the USA, particularly in Delaware, North Carolina, Louisiana, the Chesapeake Bay and New Jersey. It is the Maryland state crustacean and the state's largest commercial fishery.
LOCATION:
Find this place on Google Maps.
➤ https://goo.gl/maps/HbK3QJpAYwAXiuWRA
#InJamaica #Jamaica #BlueCrab #BlueCrabJamaica #CallinectesSapidus #Diodontidae