blue crab
English
[edit]
Noun
[edit]blue crab (plural blue crabs)
- Any member of either of two groups of crab:
- 2023 August 22, Lorenzo Tondo, “Invasive blue crabs threaten economy of whole regions of Italy, official say”, in The Guardian[1], →ISSN:
- The blue crab is a highly important food source for its natural predators such as rays and sharks in its natural habitat, but in the north of Italy it has no predators and is reproducing without limits and destroying the local fauna.
- Any crab of genus Callinectes
- especially of species Callinectes sapidus of eastern US
- A crab of species Portunus pelagicus
- (by ellipsis) Any of several species of crab with three-part vernacular names. (See Derived terms and Related terms below.)
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see blue crab.
Derived terms
[edit]- Asian blue crab (Portunus trituberculatus)
- Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus)
- Chesapeake blue crab (Callinectes sapidus)
- Christmas Island blue crab (Tuerkayana celeste)
- Japanese blue crab (Portunus trituberculatus)
- lesser blue crab (Callinectes similis)
- Malawi blue crab (Acanthothelphusa lirrangensis)
- Maryland blue crab (Callinectes sapidus)
- ornate blue crab (Callinectes ornatus)
Related terms
[edit]- African blue swimming crab (Portunus segnis)
- blue king crab (Paralithodes platypus)
- blue land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi)
- blue manna crab (Portunus pelagicus)
- blue swimmer crab (Portunus pelagicus)
References
[edit]- “blue crab”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
blue crab on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - Callinectes sapidus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Portunus pelagicus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
