Figure 150. — Portunus spinicarpua (Stimpson). A, male 

 in dorsal view, legs not shown except for right cheliped : 

 B. right chela of male in frontal view ; 5 mm. indicated. 



Habitat. — This appears to be a species living in 

 deeper waters of the region. On shrimping 

 grounds in the western Gulf of Mexico, Hilde- 

 brand (1954) reported it as found only along the 

 seaward side in depths of 15 to 37 fathoms. Five 

 to 300 fathoms. 



Typt localities. — Off Tortugas, Carysfort Reef, 

 Conch Reef, Alligator Reef, Pacific Reef, and 

 American Shoal, Fla.; lat. 31°31' N. long. 79° 41' 

 W. off Georgia; in depths ranging from 13 to 150 

 fathoms. 



Known range. — Off Cape Hatteras, N.C., to 

 State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. 



Remarks. — Ovigerous females have been taken 

 from January to September from Florida to Suri- 

 nam, and in November in Texas. Pearse (1932b) 

 found the barnacle, Diehelastis sinvata Aurivil- 

 lius, on a number of individuals. 



Genus Callinectes Stimpson, 1860 



Rathbun, 1930a. p. 98. 



KEY TO SPECIES IN THE CAROLINAS 



a. Frontal teeth, including inner orbitals, four 



sapidus i p 168 1 



an. Frontal teeth, including inner orbitals, six 



ornatus t\>. 172 i. 



Callinectes sapidus Rathbun. Blue Crab 

 Figure 151 



Lupa hastata Say, 1817, p. 65. 



Callinectes sapidus Rathbun. 1896a, p. 352, pis. 12 ; 24, fig. 1 ; 

 25, fig. 1; 26, fig. 1; 27, fig. 1 (rev.).— Hay and Shore. 191S. 

 p. 432, pi. 35. fig. 1. — Rathbun, 1930a, p. 99, pi. 47 (rev.). 



Recognition characters. — Carapace, including 

 lateral spines, 2.5 times as wide as long, moder- 

 ately convex, nearly smooth, except lightly tuber- 

 culate on inner branchial and cardiac regions; a 

 tuberculate transverse line from side to side be- 

 tween lateral spines, and a shorter transverse line 

 about halfway between this and frontal margin. 

 Four frontal teeth, including inner orbitals, tri- 

 angular, acute, both pairs more or less distinctly 

 bilobed. Anterior eight anterolateral spines of 

 subequal length, concave on both margins and 

 acuminate; lateral spines nearly straight, usually 

 longer than space occupied by three preceding 

 teeth ; inner suborbital tooth prominent and acute. 



Chelipeds of male large and powerful, smaller 

 in female; merus with three spines in front and 

 one. small spine at distal end behind; carpus with 

 one spine and one spiniform tubercle on external 

 surface: hand strong, prominently ribbed, and 

 with a strong proximal spine; fingers nearly 

 straight and strongly toothed. Abdomen of male 

 in form of inverted T; basal segments broad, dis- 

 tal segments narrow; penultimate segment con- 

 stricted in proximal half, wider at both ends, 

 terminal segment approximately oblong-lanceo- 

 late ; first pleopods reaching nearly to, or beyond, 

 extremity of abdomen, approximated through 

 basal half, distal portions widely divergent except 

 at tips. Immature female with abdomen triangu- 

 lar; mature female with abdomen broad, rounded, 

 and lying loosely on ventral side of thoracic 

 sterna. 



Measurements. — Width of carapace (including 

 spines): males, 200 mm.; females, 198 mm.; 

 smallest mature females (excluding dwarfs), 86 

 mm. Exceptional males in water of low salinity 

 may measure 230 mm., or more, in width. 



Color. — Grayish, or bluish green of varying 

 shades and tints, relieved by more or less red on 

 spines of carapace; males with blue fingers on 

 hands, mature females with red fingers on hands; 

 underparts off white with tints of yellow and 

 pink. Churchill (1919) gave a colored frontis- 

 piece showing ventral and other views. 



168 



FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



