A potentially invasive crab species has landed in coastal South Carolina, from Hilton Head, though the Charleston area and up to Myrtle Beach.
State regulators are asking the public to report sightings of blue land crabs, which can cause damage to crops and other animals by digging deep holes in search of water.
Historically found in Brazil, the Caribbean and South Florida, blue land crabs are thicker and bulkier than the blue crabs found in coastal waters and served in local restaurants. Despite their name, they range in shades of blue and purple to orange and have one claw that’s larger than the other.
The burrowing creatures resemble a “fiddler crab on steroids,” said S.C. Department of Natural Resources crustacean researcher Daniel Sasson.
For a long time, it was thought the crabs’ northernmost range was the middle of Florida, Sasson said. That has changed.
‘Fiddler crab on steroids’: SC agency on the lookout for a new invasive (and edible) species https://t.co/WvvYRopXRa
— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) September 2, 2025