The spanner crab (Ranina ranina, or frog crab) is found along the west and east coasts of Australia, and elsewhere in the Indian Ocean. It's got something of a tick appearance going on (as Jelo pointed out -- thanks for the photos). They are rare among crabs in that they walk forward as opposed to sideways.
They prefer sandy beds where they lurk submerged in the sand so that they might snatch at passing hapless fish. They are also opportunistic eaters (as am I).
They often find themselves on the dinner plate, or in the dinner bowl. Jelo says that in his native Philippines, the spanner crab (called the curacha there) is used to make delicious stew, complete with lemon, garlic, and chili. Sounds fantastic.
This photo here reminds me of a sloth I posted on a couple of years ago. Never thought I'd draw that corollary. 
Nov 8, 2008
Moving Forward
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4 comments:
They're delicious!
Once a friend put a live one on a mutual friend's chair when he got up to go to the bathroom. Friend no. 2 came back, sat down without looking, spanner crab was murdered! Yep, he killed it by sitting on it
Looks like a head crab from the Half-Life computer game series.
I find the look of the crab exotic and a little unusual, but nowhere near "ugly".
He's not too ugly to eat. I looked at him and suddenly felt the urge to visit my local Red Lobster.
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