Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus)

Cali is Greek for "beautiful", nectes for "swimmer" and sapidus is Latin for "savory"

Male Blue Crab

Large male crabs are also known as "jimmies."

Shrimp

Brown shrimp are consumed by many predators in the wetlands. Shrimp ar also eaten by people in a vareity of dishes.

Barnacles on a piling at the Gulf Islands National Seashore Park

A sea dweller that attaches itself to solid objects such as timber, ships, and rocks

Common Barnacle

Feeds by filtering organic matter from the surrounding water

Blue Crab

A male crab's apron is shaped like an inverted 'T'

Female blue crabs have red tips on the claws

Female 'sponge crab' nearly ready to spawn

A female crab can produce up to eight million eggs in one mating season

Can you tell wether this is a male or a female?

crab skeleton - The average life span of a crab is up to three years, however the maximum age may be as long as five to eight years.

crab trap net

Blue crabs are 10 legged crustaceans related to shrimp, lobster, and crayfish.

Crabs often die when trapped in crab pots during the summer because of low oxygen conditions.

Atlantic Horseshoe Crab - crawls on the shores of beaches and marshes on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast to lay eggs by the billions.

Horseshoe crab swimming near shore.

A horseshoe crab is not really a crab, it is realted to ancient creatures that are now extinct.

Blue crabs are both predators and prey. Natural predators are eels, drum, trout, some sharks, and humans.

Blue Crabs typically consume thin-shelled bivalves, annelids, fish, plants, and nearly any other item they can find.

Periwinkle snails eat algae and detritus.

Periwinkle Snails on spartina grass

Periwinkle snails are the most common snail in the marsh

Periwinkle snails have a hard conical shell.

Periwinkle snail

Periwinkle snails are very good at going up and down cordgrass

Barnacles

Barnacles are crustaceans that eat plankton

A crab in the water at night. It could be getting ready to shed or molt.

Blue crab at night

Crabs at low tide

Wire crab trap used in the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding waters.

Blue crab entered the trap to feed on the fish bait placed inside

Blue crabs out of water begin to blow bubbles ?

An adult female's apron is broad and rounded while an immature female's is triangular

Wharf crab