THE COCONUT CRAB
Birgus latro also known as the coconut crab is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world. They can grow up to a leg span of 3 ft. It sometimes takes 120 years to reach it’s full size. It’s also known as the robber crab due to its propensity for stealing silverware and pots and pans.
They are endemic to islands in the Pacific & Indian ocean. The coconut crab eats anything it can get its claws on. It’ll go after fruit, vegetation, and carrion: dead birds and other coconut crabs. It really loves coconuts & will use it’s massive pinchers to crack one open.
While you might perceive them as a threat because of it’s size, humans are a larger threat to this species. Human encroachment has thrown their food chains into chaos and they are disappearing rapidly. (Source) (Japanese Spider Crab)
This picture circulated around the internet a few years back, and a lot of people were sure it was fake. Nope, it’s real. This is a Coconut Crab, and it’s huge for a reason. Anyone who’s tried to open a coconut with simple tools can probably figure out why. Of course, like always, ARKive has great footage of these guys breaking into coconuts.
By the way Coconut Crabs are really giant hermit crabs. The adults are big enough to not need a shell (and would have a hell of a time finding one that fits). But, before they attain their massive size, the babies still use the tried-and-true snail shell protection method that other Hermit Crabs use:
these guys are so badass when they get big that when they climb up trees to drop coconuts, they dont crawl back down. They just say ‘screw it’ and let go and fall to the floor.
