The Amazing Life of Crabs & Fun Facts

Crabs have such unusual and interesting appearances. It’s interesting to note that there are about 4500 different species of crabs in the world. According to study, they are among the planet’s oldest living things and have been around for more than 200 million years. These omnivorous creatures are generally found along the coast. Depending on the species, they come in a range of sizes. They can also sense and remember pain, according to scientists.

There are two types of crabs: real crabs and imitation crabs. Brachyurans, or true crabs, have four pairs of lengthy legs and short abdomens that they use to move around. Anomurans have larger abdomens and fewer walking legs. They are sometimes known as fake crabs.

There are over 5,000 kinds of crab, of which 4,500 are real crabs and 500 are imitations. Real crabs include creatures like snow crabs, blue crabs, and spider crabs. False crabs include, among others, hermit crabs, king crabs, and squat lobsters. Even though they are categorized as decapods, some crabs, such as king crabs, horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, and porcelain crabs, are not thought of as true crabs.

Did you know these facts about crabs?

Despite having more anatomical resemblance to prawns and lobsters than any other animal, there are several varieties of crab that may survive both on land and in water. One such instance is the fiddler crab. Gills and lungs, which it possesses, allow it to do this. Crabs can live on land if they can maintain the moisture in their gills. For this main reason, they tend to live close to the coast.

When certain body parts are rubbed together, such as when an insect rubs its legs together, strudulation occurs. Scientists have known for a long time that crabs produce noise by rubbing their legs together as well as the distinctive ridges on their claws and arms.

The female red crab can lay up to 100,000 eggs, which she stores in her abdominal sac. The setting moon announces the arrival of female fish in the ocean. At the water’s edge, females brace themselves before releasing their eggs in what seems to be a dance.

Crabs will dive into any nearest burrow to flee when danger arrives. During high tide, they can take cover in burrows. Since most crabs have flat bodies, they can squeeze into small spaces more easily. Crabs typically dive deep and out of sight for security. They often hide in cracks in the earth, under vegetation or boulders, or by tunneling into soft sand and mud.

Crabs and other crustaceans have a vision system called dipolar polarization vision, which has two channels and horizontal and vertical photoreceptor cells that are perpendicular to one another. They have poor vision, but can distinguish between colors. Nearly like snails, their eyes are located on their stalks. Crabs’ eyes are large compound eyes with countless tiny lenses.

Crustaceans have the head, thorax, and abdomen as their three different bodily sections, yet the head and thorax may join to form a cephalothorax. On the head, there are three pairs of mouthparts, one pair of complex eyes, and two pairs of antennae. All crab species have a pair of feeding-focused structures called maxillipeds on their heads.

The bones of a crab are in its shell. Like spiders and insects, crabs also expose their skeletons on the outside of their bodies. By providing a strong shell to fend off predators and improving its muscular power, a crab’s exoskeleton helps it survive. The exoskeleton of other arthropods, which has several points where muscles can attach, guards against predators, desiccation, or waterlogging, each of which are crucial for small organisms. However, the exoskeleton also limits the size at which arthropods can grow.

A crab’s missing appendage might grow back after each molt. Adult crabs regenerate throughout the course of a year because they molt every year, the adult males in the winter and the adult females in the fall. Through subsequent molts, the newly developed claws gradually grow bigger than the originals.

Do Crabs & Lobsters Share any Traits?

I have a fascinating crab fact for you! Both lobsters and crabs have teeth inside their stomachs. These are used by ghost crabs to digest their food, but interestingly enough, they also use them to frighten away predators by making noise. Atlantic ghost crabs grumble during combat using teeth in their guts, according to oceanographic researchers. It’s said to be the first time an animal has used stomach noises as a communication method.

More fun Facts About Crabs:

Crabs come in more than 4,500 different species.
The majority of species are found around coasts with salt, fresh, or brackish water.
Crabs are really old. They appeared 200 million years ago, during the Jurassic period.
The smallest known species is the pea crab. Its length ranges from 0.27 to 0.47 inches.
The largest crab is the Japanese Spider Crab, which has claws that extend about 12 feet!
Chitin makes up the “exoskeleton” of crabs. Their soft tissue is safeguarded.
Crabs swim and walk sideways.
Crabs are omnivores since they consume both meat and vegetation.
Female crabs only experience pregnancy for one or two weeks. After that, they deposit 1,000–2,000 eggs.
Crabs that live in groups are referred to as “casts.”
A crab typically lives for three to four years.