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Blue Crab
Callinectes sp.
32.79, -79.91
Field Notes
Description:
I spotted this specimen either swimming (if alive) or floating (if dead) in the harbor near Patriot's Point in Charleston Harbor. I don't think I have enough details available from these pictures to make a correct identification at species level, and there are three locally occurring species of blue crab along the coast of SC - Callinectes sapidus, C. similis, C. ornatus. Blue crabs are portunids (swimming crabs), have a specialized pair of flat, oar-shaped rear legs (pereopods) called or swimmerets - you can see these in the pictures. It is missing one claw.
Habitat:
Native to the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
Notes:
Spotted near Patriots Point in Charleston Harbor
Add'l resource:
https://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/sertc/Blue%20Crab%20SOM.pdf
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