Atlantic Blue Crab
Callinectes sapidus
Animalia
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- 3-4 yrs
- Size
- Medium
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Coastal estuary
- Range
- Western Atlantic
- Movement
- Swimming
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Armor
- Status
- Common
About
A swift swimming crab of the western Atlantic, named for the bright sapphire blue of its claws and back legs. Its rearmost pair of legs is flattened into paddles, letting it scull through estuarine mud at surprising speed.
Life cycle
- 1.juvenileA juvenile crustacean takes adult form after its larval phase, growing in stages between molts.
- 2.adultFully grown at adult size and full hard shell.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Order
- Decapoda
- Family
- Portunidae
- Genus
- Callinectes
- Species
- Callinectes sapidus