The Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus), also known as the Atlantic blue crab, or regionally as the Maryland blue crab or Chesapeake blue crab, is a species of crab native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and introduced internationally. The blue crab is an omnivore, eating both plants and animals. Blue crabs are native to the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Cod to Argentina and around the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It has recently been reported north of Cape Cod in the Gulf of Maine, potentially representing a range expansion due to climate change. It has been introduced (via ballast water) to Japanese and European waters, and has been observed in the Baltic, North, Mediterranean and Black Seas. Blue crabs typically consumes thin-shelled bivalves, annelids, small fish, plants and nearly any other item it can find, including carrion, other blue crabs, and animal waste. The natural predators of Blue crabs include eels, drum, striped bass, spot, trout, some sharks, cownose rays, and whiptail stingrays.
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