6 incredible crab stories from around the world

6 Incredible Crab Stories from around the World. This Crabs thought extinct resurface again.

6. Crucifix Crab, Charybdis feriatus, Spotted In The Straits Of Malacca

The appearance of a rare crab species in a Malaysian state half a century later has sparked a frenzy among locals in Malacca.

The crabs are unique for a conspicuous cross-shaped light mark on their shells, and were discovered by a fisherman who hauled up a dozen of these crabs on Sunday. Since then, he has been inundated by offers to buy the crabs.

“Only minimal quantities of the crabs were caught. Many locals don’t buy them to eat, but to preserve the shell as it’s considered sacred,” he told the Malaysian newspaper, The Star.

The crustacean, with the scientific name Charybdis feriatus or ‘crucifix crab’, is a species ofMalacostraca and is mainly found in Malaysian and Indonesian waters. It was reportedly last seen in the Straits of Malacca in the 1960s.

State Rural Development and Agriculture Committee chairman Datuk R. Perumal said the state would ask the Fisheries Department to record and monitor the landings of the rare crab. They hope to conserve the crab species by breeding it.

Speculating about what led to their disappearance, a marine biologist suggested that rapid development along the state coastline may have led to the deterioration of the mangrove swamps where the crabs thrived.

Via: asianscientist.com

5. Spider Crab makes appearance at Cornish aquarium

A rare type of spider crab, which has not been seen in Cornwall since 1912, is making an appearance at a north Cornwall aquarium.

The tiny 'gibb's spider crab' was donated to Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium earlier this summer by a fisherman.

The creature is so rare a marine life expert was needed to identify it.

Matt Slater, curator at the aquarium, said the only records they had of such a crab dated back to "Edwardian and Victorian times".

Photos of the crustacean were sent to Cornish marine life expert Dr Paul Gainey who identified it.

Mr Slater said: "It's hardly surprising that we weren't able to find out much about it, apparently it's incredibly rare.

"There are 13 records but all are during Edwardian and Victorian times when the crabs were caught in trawl nets."

Mr Slater said the crab was "only about the size of a thumbnail".

via: bbc.co.uk

4. Corrugated Crab spotted in British waters for just third time in century

A rarely seen species of crab has been discovered in British waters for only the third time in a century.

The Corrugated Crab, which is named after the distinctive ridges on its shell, was found in a prawn pot 90 feet underwater by Tim Bailey, a fisherman.

It was discovered in the Fal Estuary in Cornwall, the first time the species has been recorded there for more than 25 years.

The crab has only ever been found in British waters 11 times, nine of which were before 1907.

It is now recovering at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay, Cornwall. The species is native to Britain but is rarely seen because it is nocturnal and a swimming crab, which does not often come to shore.

A spokesman at the aquarium said: "As a crustacean enthusiast it is exciting to finally get to see this particular type of crab in the flesh rather than just in textbooks."

The species, Liocarcinus Corrugatus, grows to a maximum of 6cm, and is reddish-brown in colour, and is nocturnal.

It is also known as the wrinkled swimming crab and it can be aggressive. It has been known to attack divers with its sharp claws.

The spokesman added: "They are native to Britain and to a large part of the globe. They live away from the shores as they are a swimming crab.

"We are hoping to have this one on display. It is actually so feisty that we are keeping it in quarantine. We are trying to recreate the habitat it likes."

via: telegraph.co.uk

3. Rare giant deep-sea crab caught off the Isles of Scilly

A giant deep-sea crab has been caught in a fisherman’s nets off the Isles of Scilly.

The 1m (3ft 3in) box crab, which has been named Spud, has a missing claw and is being cared for at Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium.

The species can grow up to 2m (6ft 6in) and is normally found at depths of 2.3km (9,842ft).

The largest box crab measuring about 1.2m (3ft 11in) was found five years ago by a fisherman from Padstow.

Spud was pulled up from a depth of 110m (360ft) by skipper Matthew Keast, who was fishing for turbot.

Rotten starfish

Aquarium manager David Waines said the crab could have been the biggest ever caught if its second claw was still intact.

“He was in a boat for three days and we don’t want to man-handle him too much by getting out tape measures,” he said.

“This one probably strolled into shallow water at some point and the fisherman may not have realised what he had caught. It is an astonishing find.”

Staff are trying to feed him on a diet of rotten starfish and said his lost claw could even grow back.

The aquarium believes the crab is only the eighth of its kind brought up in the UK since 1900.

Due to the great depths at which they live, relatively little is known about giant box crabs.

It is believed they prefer warmer water, such as those off Morocco, are scavengers and live mainly off dead fish found on the seabed.

The aquarium said it hoped to put Spud on display at some point.

2. 'Crabzilla': The biggest crab ever seen in Britain... and it's still growing

With its enormous legs and lethal claws, this monster of the deep is already the biggest crab ever seen in Britain.

But astonishingly, the arthropod - which measures a staggering 10ft from claw to claw - is still growing, and could live until it is 100.

Nicknamed 'Crabzilla' after the fictional giant monster, the Japanese Spider Crab has a body the size of a basketball and its legs can straddle a car. They will eventually measure a massive 15ft.

The crab, called Macrocheira kaempferi in Latin, was caught by fishermen in the Pacific Ocean and has now been imported to Britain where it has gone on display at the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham.

Out of the water, the crab looks limp and languid because it cannot support its heavy limbs.

But in its own habitat - up to 2,500ft down in the cold seas of the ocean - it is a lethal predator.

However, it also has predators of its own - humans - as it is considered a delicacy in Japan.

Graham Burrows, curator of the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham, said: 'It is rumoured these crabs can grow to four metres across.

'Our open-topped ray tank has the icy cold waters Crabzilla needs, and will be his home until the end of March.

'He absolutely dwarfs the other crabs in there, but he's not aggressive and they should have nothing to worry about.'

'He has already spent time in quarantine and ultimately will be moved to the Sea Life centre in Blankenberge in Belgium.'

He added: 'The Japanese Spider Crab is the largest known member of the arthropod family, which includes all invertebrates with jointed limbs.

'Crabzilla's front limbs are his feeding arms, each over five feet long and ending in sizeable claws.

'They are a Japanese delicacy and are usually salted and steamed, but eating them in the spring is banned because that is when they lay their eggs.'

via: dailymail.co.uk

1 Rare Purple Crab Species Identified in Threatened Palawan Biodiversity

A rare species of purple crabs called the Insulamon palawanense is among four new crab species recently discovered in a research programme on the island of Palawan. Scientists at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Dresden and De La Salle University in Manila have discovered the specie during their Aqua Palawana research programme. The unique biodiversity in which the species were found is under threat. The new crab species found are endemic to only a few islands and are unable to spread elsewhere. Around 50 per cent of the species living on Palawan are defined as endemic, as they are exclusively native to the island.