Blue Swimmer Crab
Click to enlarge image
© Australian Museum
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Portunus
- Species
- armatus
- Family
- Portunidae
- Infraorder
- Brachyura
- Order
- Decapoda
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Subphylum
- Crustacea
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- 19 cm
Introduction
The Blue Swimmer Crab is named for its distinctive colour.
Identification
The Blue Swimmer Crab is easily recognised by its distinctive shape and colour, and its large front pincers.
Female Blue Swimmer Crabs are known as 'jennies' and are less colourful than the males.
© Australian Museum
Habitat
Generally, the Blue Swimmer Crab occurs in the deeper waters of intertidal estuaries but occasionally it enters shallower waters.
Distribution
The Blue Swimmer Crab is found from Northern Queensland to Eden in New South Wales; Western Australia and the South Australian gulfs; also New Zealand and New Caledonia.
Seasonality
The Blue Swimmer Crab is a popular food in Australia and is targeted and caught in large numbers by professional and recreational fishers. These crabs enter estuaries as juveniles and grow quite quickly, maturing after one year.
