Coconut Crab

[aldaman]

Here's a pic of a Large land crab, we call a Coconut crab here in the Pacific region. Its large pinchers are used to open up coconuts which it eats for food. It is hanging on a 33 gallon trash can...

[nytitan1]

holy crap that thing is huge

[roy365]

Holy S**t!!!!!!! Do you eat those things????

[Quartz]

Speaking as a Cajun......That thing wouldn't last 3 seconds around my house. It would be boiled as fast as we could heat the water.

[Energizer]

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[TitanTailGator]

Never seen on of those before. Is that about as big as they get, or have you seen bigger?

[roy365]

I just saw that picture on the internet. That one appears to be a larger one. They are eaten.......their eggs are a delicacy. Says some coconut farmers use them as watch "dogs" over their coconut trees. LOL

[Seerex]

Old Bay and butter please

[BobNYC]

Man...that thing could scare the bloody crap out of you if you were taking the garbage out late one night and you didn't see it hanging on the garbage can!

[DeadRiver]

holy ****.. that's pretty cool.. do they go in the ocean? i know i had little crabs clawing my toes, couldn't imagine one of these guys taking a chunk.

[aldaman]

Originally Posted by DeadRiver

holy ****.. that's pretty cool.. do they go in the ocean? i know i had little crabs clawing my toes, couldn't imagine one of these guys taking a chunk.

No they dont...They actually cant swim or rarely stay under water...They hang around the beaches though...Below are some info on it...

Coconut crabs cannot swim and will drown in water. They use a special organ called a branchiostegal lung to breathe. This organ can be interpreted as a developmental stage between gills and lungs, and is one of the most significant adaptations of the coconut crab to its habitat. The chambers of this breathing organ are located in the rear of the cephalothorax. They contain a tissue similar to that found in gills, but suited to the absorption of oxygen from air, rather than water. They use their last, smallest pair of legs to clean these breathing organs, and to moisten them with seawater. The organs require water to function, and the crab provides this by stroking its wetted legs over the spongy tissues nearby. Coconut crabs may also drink salt water, using the same technique to transfer water to their mouths.

In addition to this breathing organ, the coconut crab has an additional rudimentary set of gills. However, while these gills were probably used to breathe under water in the evolutionary history of the species, they no longer provide sufficient oxygen, and an immersed coconut crab will drown within a few hours or minutes (reports vary, probably depending on the levels of stress and exercise and the resulting oxygen consumption).

The coconut crab climbs trees to eat coconuts or fruit, to escape the heat or to escape predators. It is a common perception that the coconut crab cuts the coconuts from the tree to eat them on the ground (hence the German name Palmendieb and the Dutch Klapperdief). However, according to the late German biologist Holger Rumpf (sometimes spelled Rumpff) the animal is not intelligent enough for such a planned action, and rather accidentally drops a coconut while attempting to open it on the tree. Coconut crabs cut holes into coconuts with their strong claws and eat the contents; this behavior is unique in the animal kingdom.

Coconut crabs live alone in underground burrows and rock crevices, depending on the local terrain. They dig their own burrows in sand or loose soil. During the day, the animal stays hidden, to protect itself from predators and reduce water loss from heat. While resting in its burrow, the coconut crab closes the entrance with one of its claws to create the moist microclimate within the burrow necessary for its breathing organs. In areas with a large coconut crab population, some may also come out during the day, perhaps to gain an advantage in the search for food. Coconut crabs will also sometimes come out during the day if it is moist or raining, since these conditions allow them to breathe more easily. They live almost exclusively on land, and some have been found up to 6 km from the ocean.

[DeadRiver]

thanks for the info... i never knew such a creature existed!

[bmbroker]

Dayyumm! Now that's a crab! It would take a heck of a pot to boil that sucker. Do folks eat em?

[TitanLou]

I used to see them all the time when I would go to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Never saw one that big though.

[Blackbeauty]

Wow!! That bad boy is an all-you-can-eat crabfest in itself! Just went to one of them and the snow crab legs, though delicious, were not as big as this one! That would sure be interesting.