Wow, Jackie. Granted I did not snoop in the mussel beds so much for my P. cinctipes, I have never seen such a beautifully purple-blue cinctipes! Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing. Do we know much about color variation in these guys in terms of the sources of variation? The similarities between coloration in this individual and the mussels themselves is striking. - Chris Griesemer
Great to hear from you. I should have known this crab would catch your eye. :)
I'm not sure about why some individuals are so blue. We see these really blue crabs occasionally -- i.e., they're not necessarily common (we don't see them all the time), but I wouldn't say they're rare either (uncommon might be a good descriptor).
I haven't looked into whether anyone has studied the different colors, but it would be interesting to learn more about it. Makes me wonder if it's similar to blue lobsters, etc.?
They are quite striking...and I agree they're a good match with the colors of the mussels!
Wow, Jackie. Granted I did not snoop in the mussel beds so much for my P. cinctipes, I have never seen such a beautifully purple-blue cinctipes! Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteDo we know much about color variation in these guys in terms of the sources of variation? The similarities between coloration in this individual and the mussels themselves is striking. - Chris Griesemer
Hi, Chris!
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you. I should have known this crab would catch your eye. :)
I'm not sure about why some individuals are so blue. We see these really blue crabs occasionally -- i.e., they're not necessarily common (we don't see them all the time), but I wouldn't say they're rare either (uncommon might be a good descriptor).
I haven't looked into whether anyone has studied the different colors, but it would be interesting to learn more about it. Makes me wonder if it's similar to blue lobsters, etc.?
They are quite striking...and I agree they're a good match with the colors of the mussels!
:) Jackie