The Latin suffix sapidus, meaning "tasty,"
accurately describes the common Blue Crab, sometimes called the
Blue-claw Crab. This quality is one reason why it has long been
harvested in great numbers both commercially and recreationally
from New York Harbor and Jamaica Bay. Together with other resident
crustaceans, mollusks, fishes, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and
birds, it was illustrated and described in DeKay's landmark six-volume
study, a section of the New York State Geological Survey of the
natural history of New York State.
The excellent hand-colored lithographs of this monumental
publication are unusual in that the outlines of the figures were
created using the camera lucida, an early photographic instrument.
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