blue crab

plural blue crabs

1. Any member of either of two groups of crab

   The blue crab is a highly important food source for its natural predators such as rays and sharks in its natural habitat, but in the north of Italy it has no predators and is reproducing without limits and destroying the local fauna.

   2023 August 22, Lorenzo Tondo, “Invasive blue crabs threaten economy of whole regions of Italy, official say”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

2. Any member of either of two groups of crab:
   1. Any crab of genus Callinectes
   2. especially of species Callinectes sapidus of eastern US
   3. A crab of species Portunus pelagicus
3. by ellipsisAny of several species of crab with three-part vernacular names. (See Derived terms and Related terms below.)
4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see blue crab.