Ten Beautiful and Bizarre Crabs

wanty · Post time 2-7-2012 03:37 PM

Crabs come in all shapes and sizes, and occupy many niches of the world’s ecosystems, from inland coastal forests to the deep sea. Here, we'll take an eye-opening look at some of the bright stars of crab diversity! Some are scary, some are colourful and others are downright weird, but ultimately all of them show us how nature sustains her myriad and often beautiful adaptations.

LAND CRABS

10. Halloween Crab (Gecarcinus quatradus)

Halloween or not, this crab always sports a brilliant mask that has inspired other nicknames like Harlequin Land Crab or Moon Crab. Halloween Crabs occupy coastal Mexico and Central America and can even be found as far south as Peru. They are forest dwellers, subsisting on leaves and seedlings and usually feed at night. Despite occupying coastal rainforests and spending most of their time on land, Halloween Crabs must return to the water to lay their eggs.

9. Coconut Crab (Birgus latro)

As the world’s largest land-dwelling arthropod, weighing up to 4.1 kg (9 lbs), Coconut Crabs live exclusively in the islands of the South Pacific. They feed on nuts, seeds and occasionally coconuts, which several crabs may gang up on in order to crack open! Coconut Crabs are extremely specialized creatures. They are a species of hermit crab, but when mature develop a strong enough exoskeleton to free them from relying on a shell. They have a unique respiratory system, neither gills nor lungs but something in between, and their olfactory organs are more insect-like than crab-like.

Coconut crabs are hunted by humans wherever the two can be found together. This has resulted in concern for the future of these creatures, and conservation efforts have been initiated in Micronesia, Guam, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.

In fact, these fascinating creatures so deserved a closer look we devoted an entire article to them!

DEEP SEA CRABS

8. Spiny King Crab (Paralithodes rathbuni)

This amazing creature is covered with spines to aid in camouflaging and protecting it from predators. Along with California King Crabs (of which they are a subspecies,) Spiny Kings are known to occupy depths as great as 2,400 feet. At these depths they feed on sea stars, other crabs and detritus that falls from above.

7. Brown Box Crab (Lopholithodes foraminatus)

Another type of king crab, this strange looking creature can also live at great depths, and ranges from Kodiak, Alaska to San Diego, California. The Brown Box Crab lives primarily on bivalves that it digs up from the sediment. That works out nicely, since these crabs spend most of their time hiding underneath the sediment. To do this they have developed a specialized method of respiration. When they cross their front claws over their carapace, distinctive notches in the claws combine with their adjacent legs to form a small hole that channels water to the lungs below the sediment for circulation. Ingenious!

REEF CRABS

6. Soft Coral Crab (Hoplophyrs oatesii)

These tiny monsters are devoted to camouflage, living inside groves of soft coral and feeding on plankton. As if their spiny, coral-like appearance isn’t enough, it is thought that Soft Coral Crabs occasionally ingest coral polyps to absorb the same pigments, offering even more camouflage protection. Ranging from the Indian Ocean throughout the western Pacific, Soft Coral Crabs coexist peacefully with an array of other creatures that dwell amongst the coral.

5. Zebra Crab (Zebrida adamsii)

Ranging from the Indian Ocean through the Pacific and as far south as Australia, Zebra Crabs are found wherever there are sea urchins, and particularly Fire Urchins, whose spines are the Zebra Crabs’ favourite food. These oddly shaped crustaceans flit from urchin to urchin throughout their feeding day. Munching on spines doesn't do the urchins any harm - Zebra crabs are a pretty peaceful bunch and are well suited to aquarium living.

4. Orangutan Crab (Achaeus japonicus)

Belonging to the family of spider and decorator crabs, this unique and tiny creature (it's only 2 cm long) bears a weird resemblance to the Great Ape after which it is named. Not only do Orangutan Crabs have a thick coat of orange “hair”, they have two long legs resembling ape arms.

To enhance the effect, while feeding on plankton and gathering particles from the current, the Orangutan Crab seems to sway these long arms, just like an Orangutan might do!

3. Porcelain Crab (Neopetrolisthes maculatus)

This beautiful specimen is not actually a “true crab” at all, but a type of lobster that gradually evolved to resemble a crab. Just like porcelain, these crabs are beautiful and very fragile, often losing limbs when fleeing predators and growing them back later. Beautiful they may be, but their diet certainly isn't - as well as scavenging for rotting shrimp and fish, they also live on the mucus from sea anemones! Theirs is a symbiotic relationship. They keep anemones clean and are immune from their poison, while the anemones keep the crabs safe from outside predators.

SURF CRABS

2. Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grapsus grapsus)

These common sand crabs have inspired writers, fascinated scientists and entertained beach combers with their vibrant colours and nimble movement. From the coast of Southern California to Peru and various nearby islands including the Galapagos, these crabs occupy coastal waters just above the sea spray. Their clownish appearance and dexterity prompted John Steinbeck to write, “They seem to be able to run in any of four directions, but because of their rapid reaction time, they appear to read the mind of their hunter.”

1. Red-Clawed Crab (Parisesarma bidens)

A foraging species like the Sally Lightfoot, these crabs occupy regions from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific and coastal Japan, and live mostly among the brackish water of mangrove swamps. Their habit of living in and out of water in areas that sometimes combine fresh and salt water makes them tolerant of changes in water salinity. Eating leaf litter and detritus, these creatures are rarely seen scuttling across the sand but live in and among the mangrove roots where they often dig out boroughs for hiding.

* kredit to http://alizul2.blogspot.com

alphawolf · Post time 2-7-2012 04:40 PM

Last sekali Mr Krabs...sebab dia ada dua kaki ajer...kakakaka (ketawa mcm Mr Krabs)

Artemesiaa · Post time 2-7-2012 05:36 PM

Butter crabs yum yum yum

rimau_belang · Post time 2-7-2012 07:56 PM

Subhanallah......

Arlina · Post time 2-7-2012 08:23 PM

interesting info...never knew that 'orang utan' can live under the water

lonso · Post time 2-7-2012 09:06 PM

x sgka ada mcm2 jenis crab.. itulahkan banyak lagi yang kita tak teroka..

wanty · Post time 3-7-2012 10:25 AM

tu la kan...bnyk lg hidupan especially hidupan laut yang kita tak tau....

wanty · Post time 3-7-2012 10:28 AM

Last sekali Mr Krabs...sebab dia ada dua kaki ajer...kakakaka (ketawa mcm Mr Krabs)
alphawolf Post at 2-7-2012 16:40

ketam yg gila duit nie ye...kakakakaka....

md_nana · Post time 3-7-2012 10:29 AM

aku tak makan crab kot sbb rase ssh sgt. benci. hlg selera.

wanty · Post time 3-7-2012 10:31 AM

ketam sedap..tp mahal kot..isi sikit ja, kulit yg berat....kalo nak makan, kat rumah boleh la...kalau kat restoran, mau terpelanting ketam tue kot...

espri6006 · Post time 3-7-2012 11:15 AM

Reply 10# wanty

BETUL TU, Kalau nak makan ketam beli je pastu balik masak kat rumah, kalau korang makan kat kedai alamak hilang selera nasi korang sebab asyik duk layan gigit kulit ketam tu...nasinya ntah ke mana..Teringat zaman kanak-kanak dulu arwah ayah nelayan BUBU laut so boleh dikatakan every week makan ketam laut yang besar2 biru/hijau/merah semua ada. masak sambal atau kalau mak malas sambal..we ols rebus je makan gitu je dengan adik2 beradik.

wanty · Post time 3-7-2012 11:21 AM

Reply wanty

BETUL TU, Kalau nak makan ketam beli je pastu balik masak kat rumah, kalau korang m ...
espri6006 Post at 3-7-2012 11:15

uishhhh..terus rasa lapar lak dengar citer uols nie...bestnya dpt makan ketam tiap2 minggu...

espri6006 · Post time 3-7-2012 11:26 AM

Reply 12# wanty

itu citer lebih 30tahun yang lalu

.....abang@pakcik sekarang dah almost 40 ha ha...tapi hati muda. Sekarang nak makan ketam gigih cari dipasar rm16-20/kg. adeh..pedih, adik beradik termasuk iols tak mewarisi bakat nelayan ayah...

wanty · Post time 3-7-2012 11:34 AM

Reply wanty

itu citer lebih 30tahun yang lalu.....abang@pakcik sekarang dah al ...
espri6006 Post at 3-7-2012 11:26

kekekeke...mmg dah lama la citer tue...tp mesti best kan sbb time2 tu rasanya laut pun tak polute sngt mcm skrg...boleh bayangkan betapa freshnya rasa ketam tue..manis, sedap, segar...perghhhh..

..skrg nie ketam jarang jumpa yg besar2...kalau ada pun mesti mahal sngt2...