Maryland Blue Crab Names
You’ve probably heard a lot of different names for what many would refer to as a blue crab. Jimmy crab? Sook crab? Sally crab? All of these names have different meanings with regard to the sex and maturity of the crab. Learn which is which in this week’s blog so you’ll know who’s who in the world of Maryland blue crabs!
Maryland Blue Crab Names
Jimmy Crab
Jimmy crabs are male blue crabs. Male crabs are identified by the blue color on the tip of their claws and the apron on the bottom of their shell which is shaped like the Washington Monument. There are two kinds of Jimmy crabs: #1 and #2. Number one Jimmy crabs have plenty of meat and have filled out their shells. These are the kinds of crabs that appear in bushels and are classified as small, large, medium, or jumbo. It’s important to note, however, that there is no standardized size for crab measurements, thus a medium in some areas may be large in others. Number two Jimmy crabs (also called whitey crabs) are male crabs that are not as big as number one crabs and have recently shed their shell and not grown into their new one. Crab picking companies buy these crabs and sell them as lump crab meat.
Sook Crab
Sook scrabs are mature female crabs which can mate. They have an orange color on the tip of their claws and their apron has a dome shape which, in keeping with the Washington metaphor, is sometimes called the Capital Dome. Though they have less meat than male crabs, sooks have a sweet taste that many enjoy.
Sally Crab
Sally crabs are immature female crabs which cannot yet mate or carry eggs. Like sooks, they have orange-tipped claws, but their apron has a triangle shape, and they are smaller. Once a sally sheds its hard outer shell it becomes a mature sook.
Sponge Crab
Sponge crabs are female crabs that have mated and are carrying eggs under the apron. While they can hold up to 2 million eggs, only one or two will ever become crabs.
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