Coconut Crab
The coconut crab, (probably the largest terrestrial anthropoid) a type of hermit crab that can grow to gigantic proportions, is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world. Most hermit crabs live their entire lives inside the shells of other sea creatures, to protect their soft bodies from predators. But unlike other hermit crabs, only very small coconut crabs use the shells of other crabs to protect their soft-skinned abdomens as they develop. One they reach juvenile status, they abandon those shells and their abdomen develops a hard exoskeleton over the rest of their bodies. This hard skin protects the crab, reduces water loss, and continues to grow along with the crab. Coconut crabs can grow to as large as a meter in size.
It is also called the "palm thief" or "robber crab," because some people have claimed that coconut crabs steal shiny objects such as silverware and pans from houses and tents.
They eat mostly fruit, although they will eat nearly anything organic, including leaves, rotten fruit, dead animals, tortoise eggs, and the shells of other animals. They may also eat live animals that move more slowly, such as freshly hatched sea turtles. One coconut crab has even been observed catching and eating a Polynesian Rat. Coconut crabs often try to steal food from each other and will pull food into their burrows to keep it from being stolen.
Coconut crabs are also different from other crabs in that they use a special organ called a branchiostegal lung to breathe. This organ is one of the most significant adaptations of the crab to its habitat, because the way it works is something between gills and lungs.
The coconut crab, (probably the largest terrestrial anthropoid) a type of hermit crab that can grow to gigantic proportions, is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world. Most hermit crabs live their entire lives inside the shells of other sea creatures, to protect their soft bodies from predators. But unlike other hermit crabs, only very small coconut crabs use the shells of other crabs to protect their soft-skinned abdomens as they develop. One they reach juvenile status, they abandon those shells and their abdomen develops a hard exoskeleton over the rest of their bodies. This hard skin protects the crab, reduces water loss, and continues to grow along with the crab. Coconut crabs can grow to as large as a meter in size.
It is also called the "palm thief" or "robber crab," because some people have claimed that coconut crabs steal shiny objects such as silverware and pans from houses and tents.
They eat mostly fruit, although they will eat nearly anything organic, including leaves, rotten fruit, dead animals, tortoise eggs, and the shells of other animals. They may also eat live animals that move more slowly, such as freshly hatched sea turtles. One coconut crab has even been observed catching and eating a Polynesian Rat. Coconut crabs often try to steal food from each other and will pull food into their burrows to keep it from being stolen.
Coconut crabs are also different from other crabs in that they use a special organ called a branchiostegal lung to breathe. This organ is one of the most significant adaptations of the crab to its habitat, because the way it works is something between gills and lungs.