Monster Monday: the Coconut Crab
October 17, 2016
With a buglike face, spidery legs, a remarkably keen sense of smell, and a voracious appetite, the coconut crab (Birgus latro) may just scare you off the beach. A giant relative of the familiar hermit crab, the coconut crab is the largest land crab in the world. From the tip of one leg to the other, it may reach more than 3 feet (1 meter) across, and it may weigh as much as 9 pounds (4 kilograms). Some coconut crabs grow even larger and they may live up to 70 years!
A coconut crab, the largest land crab in the world, feeds on a coconut on the forest floor of the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the North Pacific Ocean. Credit: © Minden Pictures/Masterfile
The name coconut crab comes from the belief that the crab will climb trees to collect coconuts, but it mostly dines on fallen coconuts. The crab finds food with an extremely well-developed sense of smell and insectlike antennae. The crab uses its strong claws to rip off the husk and crack open hard coconut shells. It is an intelligent and curious explorer known for stealing food or even shoes or other items that people leave outside their homes. (The animal is also known as the robber crab.) Aside from coconuts, coconut crabs eat fruits and seeds, and they are enthusiastic carnivores. They have been reported to feast on rats, chickens, and small sea turtles as well as the dead bodies of larger animals. They even eat other coconut crabs!
Some folktales claim coconut crabs will swarm and overwhelm a human lying on the beach. Legends tell of unfortunate castaways being devoured by coconut crabs after being stranded on remote islands. But coconut crabs are not really dangerous to people. They have been known to surprise people with a sharp pinch, however, and their claws are powerful enough to inflict a painful injury. Experienced island residents say that tickling the soft belly of a coconut crab will quickly cause it to loosen its strong grip.
Luckily, your chances of running into a large coconut crab are pretty slim. The animals live mainly on remote tropical islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Larger coconut crabs are uncommon these days and they are even in danger of becoming extinct on islands where people eat them as a delicacy.
