#crabs | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

facts-i-just-made-up · 1 day

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why do i enjoy crabs so much?

They remind you of your time in the crustacean realm, long before you were a blog. It was the last place you felt made real sense. Though you have forgotten the feel of the cluster, the taste of the sea, a part of you longs for the feel of a shell and sand under your chelae. You spend your life now posting images, flat glowing pixel representations of the majesty you once were.

#crab #crabs #unreality

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uncharismatic-fauna · 16 hours

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At Last, the Atlantic Blue Crab!

A common sight on dinner tables in Canada, America, and Mexico, the blue crab-- also known as the Atlantic blue crab or the Maryland Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus)-- is native to the the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast of North America. This species is a bottom dweller, and can occupy a range of habitats from freshwater tributaries to the open bays and gulfs of the ocean itself. At times it may be found at high tide, but most individuals remain submerged at depths up to 36 m (120 ft) deep.

As indicated by its name, the claws and front body of male blue crabs are bright blue. Females are carry a blue tinge, but are largely brown or olive, though the tips of their claws are bright red. Otherwise, the two sexes may be distinguished by the shape of their underside, or "apron"; males have an inverted 'T' shape, while females have a wider, rounder shape. Individuals of both sexes may grow up to 23 cm (9 in) in width, and weigh up to 136 g (0.3 lbs).

Spawning for C. sapidus can occur year-round, but for most populations it peaks in October or November. When females are ready, they travel up estuaries and rivers to where populations of males are more concentrated, and then release pheromones in their urine to attract mates. Male crabs then compete for access, and guard their chosen mates fiercely for up to a week. During this time, the female molts, at which point the male fertilizes her. Afterwards, she may retain her mate's sperm for up to a year, during which time she returns to saltier waters. A female can fertilize 2 million eggs at a time, and will carry them in a mass under her abdomen until they hatch, about a week after fertilization. She may do this as many as 4 times throughout a single mating season.

Once hatched, Atlantic blue crab larvae are released into the ocean. Each larvae spends 30-40 days going through seven larval stages known as zoea; these stages are similar to the instars of a larval insect. However, zoea have hard shells and must molt at each stage of development. After the initial zoea stages, juvenile C. sapidus enter the megalops stage, which lasts 6-20 days. During this time juveniles move from the ocean into the estuaries in which they spawned. Finally, they molt into their final form, which resembles an adult-- albeit much smaller. Both males and females continue to molt throughout the year until they reach their full size. In total, both sexes go through about 25 molts each throughout their lives, which spans about 3 years in the wild.

Blue crabs have a wide and varied diet, as they are omnivores. In their larval stages, Maryland blue crabs consume primarily plankton and detritus. Megalops and adults will feed on clams, mussels, and oysters, small fish, kelp, seaweed, carrion, smaller blue crabs, and animal waste. In turn, both juveniles and adults are food for eels, large fish some sharks, stingrays, and humans. In fact, predation upon larval and sub-adult blue crabs is so heavy that, of 8 million eggs released by the mother, only 1 or 2 typically survive to adulthood.

Conservation status: The Maryland blue crab has not been evaluated by the IUCN. However, in recent decades, fisheries have noticed a severe decline in abundance, likely due to over-harvesting and pollution.

If you send me proof that you’ve made a donation to UNRWA or another fund benefiting Palestinians– including esim donations and verified gofundmes– I’ll make art of any animal of your choosing.

Photos

Kim Cover

Lynn Strauss

Jo O'Keefe

#atlantic blue crab #Decapoda #Portunidae #swimming crabs #crabs #decapods #crustaceans #arthropods #marine fauna #marine arthropods #coasts #coastal arthropods #atlantic ocean

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1five1two · 10 months

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#Crabs #Animals having a ball

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casualcarpetshark · 9 months

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BOW DOWN TO THE ANCIENT ONE

#crabs #fossils #marine biology #evolution #cretapsara athanata #evolutionary biology

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kropotkindersurprise · 5 months

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November 29, 2023 - Kissinger has finally died! 🦀🦀🦀

#crab rave #good riddance #kissinger #henry kissinger #crabs #rest in piss #🦀

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greater-than-the-sword · 9 months

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Crab Day!!!

Where:

Here on Tumblr!!

What:

Buy crabs!

Why:

As we now know, Tumblr is $30 million dollars in debt. Oops. Tumblr has announced some major (and unpopular) changes to the site in their attempt to get back above water. The alternative is that Tumblr ceases to exist. But maybe we can change that...

How:

There are 327 million unique tumblr visits per month, and almost 500 million active accounts. If 10 million unique users (or less, if we bought more than one) bought or gifted Crabs from the Tumblr store, we could knock out Tumblr's debt easily. Buy crabs!

When:

July 29, 2023 is Crab Day, running through August 5 (for anyone who can't log on that day) as Crab Week!

Who:

Everyone!! If you truly can't afford to participate with a $3 crab, (or other item from the shop) post crab memes!

Time for Tumblr users to rise again and surprise everyone...

#crab day #crabs #tumblr #save tumblr #tumblr shop #this is for me to blaze btw #im not pretending to have come up with the idea #announcement

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marinememes · 4 months

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