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The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is a small crustacean found in the waters off the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. In its scientific name, calli is Greek for "beautiful", nectes for "swimmer", and sapidus is Latin for "savory". Dr. Mary Rathbun first described the blue crab in 1896.
The natural predators of the blue crab include eels, drum, spot, trout, some sharks, and cownose sting rays. The blue crab is an omnivore, eating both plants and other animals. Blue crabs typically consume thin-shelled bivalves, annelids, fish, plants and nearly any other item they can find, including carrion.
The Chesapeake Bay, shared by Maryland and Virginia, is famous for its blue crabs, and they are are one of the most important economic items harvested from it. In 1993 the combined harvest of the blue crabs was around 100 million. Over the years the harvests of the blue crab dropped. In 2000 the combined harvest was around 45 million. While blue crabs remain a popular food in the Chesapeake Bay area, the bay is not capable of meeting local demand, so crabs are shipped in from North Carolina and Texas as well. Most are eaten as hard-shell crabs, but they can be eaten unpeeled if caught just after molting, before the new shell has had time to harden. These are known as soft shell crabs.
Male crabs are known as "jimmies", and females as "sooks".
The blue crab is the official , and the tourism slogan "Maryland is for Crabs" can be found on all manner of souvenir items in the state.
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