Blue Crab

Blue Crab Hiding in Seaweed

Common Name: Blue Crab
Scientific Name: Callinectes sapidus
Family: Portunidae - swiming crabs
Class: Malacostraca - Main crustacean class: lobsters, shrimps, crabs... 

Conservation status: Not listed
Sighting: Frequent, in shallow, sandy waters.



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We have found several Blue Crabs, always alone. They are a fancy and lively sight, identified by the vividly distinctive blue colors of its legs. They quickly respond to our approach by switching into a rather enthusiastic defensive stance. They raise the front of their carapace, and snap their claws. Then, quickly, yet never letting down their guard, they scram sideways searching for a hiding spot among the seagrass, helped by the flapping of their seemingly ungraceful swimming legs.

This one was spotted buried in the sand, eyes sticking out like a periscope, and we almost stepped on it. Once his hiding place had been compromised, it swiftly raced to the seaweed bed on the border of the sand bank, where it stopped and spied on us.
We captured this on video!
After a while watching each other, it decided to seek refuge in the dense forest of turtle weeds, further from the dangers of the sand. Such as pelicans... and distracted humans.