BLUE
CRAB
Meet Callinectes sapidus, aka the Blue Crab. Many of you have seen these crabs either on your dinner plate or along the shoreline hiding in the rocks or seagrasses. As many of you know, these crabs are important for the economy of the Gulf of Mexico and the more seen the better! They are another predator of oysters, but they will feed on anything they can get their claws on.
You can tell the females and males apart by looking at their claws. The female’s claws have red on their tips compared to the males that just have blue claws. I like to think of it as the females are putting on red nail polish or claw polish if you want to get technical. You can also tell the gender by looking at the abdomen. Males have a pointy abdomen while females have a more rounded one.
An interesting fact about blue crabs that you may not know is that they have a 5th pair of legs that are paddle shape. This unique shape makes pretty fast swimmers when compared to other crabs. Next time you are looking around rocks on shore or are walking near seagrass beds keep an eye out for them and as always take pictures!
STONE
CRAB
Meet Menippe mercenaria, aka the Stone Crab. Found hiding under rocks and in oyster beds and seagrass beds stone crabs can give quite a pinch! Just like the Blue Crab, Stone Crabs are important for the economy because they are harvested for food. Unlike Blue Crabs though, you can only take one claw from a Stone Crab when harvesting and then you must release them back into the water.
Stone Crabs can regenerate the lost claw the next time they molt so by only taking one claw from them, fishermen can continue to harvest the same crabs over time. Stone Crabs feed upon mollusks by using their enormous crushing force of their claws which can be up to 19,000 pounds (about the weight of a school bus) per square inch. Their pincer claws are used to cut or tear shell and tissue.
Stone crabs are a cool predator of the oyster reef ecosystem and have an incredible set of claws on them! Next time you see one send us a photo, but make sure to keep your fingers away from those claws!
HORSESHOE
CRAB
Meet Limulus polyphemus, aka the Horseshoe Crab. When many people see these guys, they get terrified, but they are very peaceful creatures. Their scary looking tail has no barbs on it, and it is only used to flip themselves over if they get turned around by a wave.
They have been around even before the dinosaurs (at least 445 million years) and even though they are called crabs they are more related to scorpions and spiders! They are also very important to the medical community because they have a special blue blood that can test to see if medical equipment is sterile.
Next time you see one out in the wild you can pick them up by their sides (never the tail because it can break off) and take some pictures!
LIGHTNING
WELK
Meet Busycon perversum, aka the Lightning Welk. Also called the left-handed welk these welks are different because they have a counterclockwise shell spiral compared to other welks that have a clockwise shell spiral.
Lightning Welks use their shells like a crowbar when preying on oysters by trying to open them up. Lightning Welks can be seen all along the bay on shore and in deeper waters near sea grass beds at all times of the year.
They are harmless to humans so next time you see one be sure to hold it to see why they are referred to as “left-handed” and be sure to take a picture with it.
RIBBED
MUSSELS
Meet Geukensia demissa, aka the Ribbed Mussel. Just like the Eastern Oyster, Ribbed Mussels are filter feeders that feed on nutrients and plankton in the water column. They like to attach to oyster reefs and marshes but, like oysters, you may also find them attached to any structure in the water like pilings or derelict boats. They are important to marsh ecosystems because of their symbiotic relationship with many marsh plants, like Spartina alterniflora. In this relationship, the plants benefit from the nutrients passed to marsh sediments by mussels while mussels are protected from predators and heat stress.
Some researchers have demonstrated that mussel colonization may also stabilize the plants during storm events and thereby helping to reduce erosion. The project team hopes to leverage this relationship by seeding planted saltmarsh with mussels after planting. So, next time you are out walking near a marsh look near the marsh surface and check for mussels. Drop a picture below if you do!
FLORIDA
CROWN CONCH
Meet Melongena corona, aka the Florida Crown Conch. This Crown Conch is another predator of the oyster and just like the Lightning Welk it uses its shell to open oysters.
The Florida Crown Conch just like the Lightning Welk can be found through out the bay at all times of the year. Welks, conch, and other gastropods protect themselves from predators by curling up in their shells and putting up a calcareous door like structure called the operculum.
They are also harmless but be careful when you pick them up because sometimes the top of their shell can be pointy.