Callinectes ornatus is a species of swimming crab in the genus Callinectes

Callinectes

Callinectes is a genus of crabs, containing 16 species, including the Atlantic blue crab, C. sapidus:*Callinectes affinis Fausto, 1980*Callinectes amnicola *Callinectes arcuatus Ordway, 1863...

. It can be distinguished from the closely related Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) by the presence of six frontal teeth on the carapace

Carapace

A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...

, compared with only four for C. sapidus. C. ornatus is also smaller, at a maximum carapace width of only 93 millimetres (3.7 in), compared to 230 mm (9.1 in) in C. sapidus, and is therefore not commercially exploited.

Their shells are light yellow-brown to red-brown in color. The lower tip of the claws are blue. The two spikes on each side of their shells are not as long as blue crabs. They can be found in the western Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

, as well the Caribbean coastlines

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

. Their diet consists of small crustaceans and small fish. They are also scavengers.