Check Your Can

I try to take my garbage cans to the curb during the daylight hours. That way I can see any spiders that might be lurking on the handles (and I've found quite a few, so my fears are warranted!).

But I would have to add a kevlar vest, a welder's shield, and butcher's gloves to my routine if I had to contend with the coconut crab. I can't get enough of these monsters. I wonder if they make for good guard crabs. I'm sure they need less attention than a dog.

Thanks for the photo, Tyrel.

UPDATE: I have spurned one of my readers, for which I must apologize. Frigga had linked to this image in a comment on my original coconut crab. I am sorry, Frigga--I hadn't seen that link. (This is me giving you the credit you deserve!).

Tell Me It's Not True

Please, someone tell me that this is photoshopped. I don't know if I can live in a world with crustaceans who eat the same chips as me. What are they? How did they get their...legs...on a bag of Doritos? Should we alert Frito-Lay that their inventory is under threat?

Thanks for the photo, bats. You've just ruined my appetite.

World's Largest Terrestrial Crustacean

I may have discovered my new favorite crustacean. I am shocked that I have never heard of it before. Behold the coconut crab (birgus latro). It is derived from the hermit crab, and is the world's largest terrestrial crustacean (a title I had previously assigned to a curmudgeonly uncle of mine).

These monsters are indigenous to Indian and Pacific ocean islands. They are called coconut crabs because their pinchers are strong enough to crack coconuts, which they do to harvest the cocounut meat. They are also known as robber crabs and palm thieves, because of their propensity for stealing shiny objects and stashing them away in their hideouts. I think if my new Farberware pot was ever stolen by one of these, I'd just let it go. I don't think you can reason with them.

Photo source: K Singer via Dotars.gov.au

Simple Solicitation

Erg. Alas for my lack of Korean-reading-skills (yes, I got this from a Korean site). Can anyone tell me what these are? I would hazard a guess, but I'd be wrong, and then a bunch of you would post the right answer and then I'd feel stupid. I'll forgo that pain and simply solicit your guesses.

Thanks for the link, Jessica. You have a good eye for ugly.

Photo source: Hani.co.kr

Feathers and Hair

Phlimm sent me a couple of beauties. This first one comes from the good peeps over at Zooillogix. Check out neocrinus decorus - better known as the sea lily or feather star. "See feather star crawl. See feather star come for your soul. Crawl feather star, crawl." That's the latest in a children's book series I am working on.

Photos from Zooillogix.








This last one is known as a hairy crab or the teddy-bear crab. Not only is this crab 'hairy', but it's also poisonous. Wow, talk about a crustacean that's got nothing to offer (not even teddy-bear hugs!), unless you are in the market for surliness.

Photo source: Labrador Park

Fond Memories

Paul sent in this photo of a crawdad (crayfish to you hoity-toity types), and it brought back many fond childhood memories. I can't count the number of summer days I spent in the creek by my house, catching these, getting pinched by them, and then setting them loose again.

This photo, sickeningly enough, also made me salivate. I've eaten my share of them, and they are tasty - provided you catch them from clean enough water.

BTW, if you ever get the urge to scuba dive in the American River in Sacramento, like I have, don't bother. You'll be greeted by nothing more than aluminum cans and rank upon rank of crawdads. But then, if you're planning a Cajun meal...

Thanks for the photo, Paul.

The Antartic Gives Up Her Uglies

Andrea forwarded to me links to several articles (1, 2, & 3) about recent exploration in Antarctic waters that have yielded about 30 new species of marine life. This study, which was led by researcher Julian Gutt, has discovered animals such as: "deep sea lilies, gelatinous sea squirts, glass sponges, amphipod crustaceans, and orange starfish." That's an impressive list!

But, of course, for our purposes here I am presenting you with some of the uglier critters.

This first one is an Antarctic octopus. It looks like an over-done photoshop project, like someone super-imposed a Hubble telescope image over a drawing. The makers of The Abyss would be so proud.

Photo source: E. Jorgensen, NOAA



















This one is a new species of Shackletonia, an amphipod crustacean sampled near Elephant Island. That pink eye that's staring back at the camera is more than a little disconcerting. But I love that name, 'Shackletonia'. It rolls off the tongue.

Photo source: E. Jorgensen, NOAA



















This last one is my favorite. It's a high-finned ice fish. But it looks like a dragon got grafted to a fish. Are there such things as merdragons?

Photo source: Reuters

Peacock Mantis Monster

Kat of KungFoodie brought this delightful crustacean to my attention. You are looking into the alien eyes of a peacock mantis shrimp. This is a classic example of an animal whose only redeeming quality, as far as appearances go, are its colors. Despite the beautiful colors, there's no escaping the fact that if you encountered a large one in a dark alley, you would assume that you had entered a bad science fiction movie.

Thanks for the links, Kat. And thanks you, Francis, for letting me use your fantastic photo.

Photo courtesy: Francis























And, of course, like most every crustacean, these guys sometimes find themselves served up for dinner. Below are some that have been prepped for cooking. Yummy. I like them better colorful.

If you want to see a video of one of these in action, check out this link.

Photo courtesy: Masato

Psycho Crustacean

Joe came across this pool in Flickr, and it holds a cache of diving photos that belong here. Take this crab eating a fish. Nothing too extraordinary about this picture at first glance - just your typical circle-of-life scenario. Until you look into the crab's eyes. Then you see mania and psychosis. Perfect. Welcome to Ugly Overload.

I'm not well-versed when it comes to crustaceans. Is this a crab or a lobster, or some other creature I don't know about?

Thanks for the link, Joe, and thanks for the photo, Calvin.

UPDATE: Both Chrissie and Rasmus have identified this as a Norway Lobster. I think they're correct.

Photo courtesy: Calvin Tang

Deep-sea Gigantism

Mitch prompted me to do a search for this beauty, the giant isopod. When I first saw the photo I thought is was an enormous pill bug (that's rolly-polly to some of us). But, thank goodness, these crab-cousins are only found in the deep, cold waters of the Atlantic and Pacific.

This particular species, bathynomus giganteus, is an example of deep-sea gigantism. That's a phenomenon found among many abyssal invertebrates, which results in them getting huge. I'm just glad they use the terms 'deeps-sea' or 'abyssal,' because there is no reference to 'my backyard.'

Photos courtesy: Knuttz

Santa's Bane

This arctic crab was sent to me by Ilk. It's one more reason to avoid the frozen wastes of the north pole. I've seen Aliens - I know what these guys do. I don't want an ovipositor rammed down my throat, only to wake up later and have a baby alien burst out of my gut. I wonder how Santa Claus deals with these.

Actually, I don't know much at all about this crab. I know it's from the arctic and it's far too spider-like. Any students of marine life care to weigh in on this one?

Thanks for the photo, Ilk.

UPDATE: Thanks to Rasmus, we now know this to be a Sea Spider. Very aptly named. Thanks for the common sense, science.

Half & Half

This crustacean made it in the news thanks to its rare coloring. According to the Mount Desert Oceanarium in Maine (the lobster was caught near Bar Harbor, Maine, and donated by the catcher), the odds of finding a lobster with this coloring are 1 in 50 million to 100 million.

Lobsters have two strikes against them when it comes to survival: they are ugly and they are tasty. More of them should try for this two-tone coloring and then get themselves into the nearest cage. Survival is guaranteed then.

Photo courtesy: Yahoo!

Digging in Caves, Again

Yahoo! is reporting that scientists have discovered a new species of crawdad in a cave in Israel. Don't they know that every species discovered in a cave is going to be ugly - remember, nothing that doesn't see the light of day is going to be an attractive animal. Also, why all this digging around in caves? It seems that new species are being discovered in our underground realm every few months.