Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Usually, the male crabs are almost twice the size of the female crabs. [4] Males can grow up to 16.5 cm (6.5 in) in carapace width, while females can grow up to 9.5 cm (3.7 in). [ 7 ] Male carapaces are usually about 7 cm (2.8 in) in width and length, with the female carapace usually close to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) in width and length. [ 4 ]
Crabs vary in size from the pea crab, a few millimeters wide, to the Japanese spider crab, with a leg span up to 4 m (13 ft). [6] Several other groups of crustaceans with similar appearances – such as king crabs and porcelain crabs – are not true crabs, but have evolved features similar to true crabs through a process known as carcinisation .
The Tasmanian giant crab is one of the largest crabs in the world, reaching a mass of 17.6 kg (39 lb) and a carapace width of up to 46 cm (18 in). [6] Among crabs, only the Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) can weigh more. [5] Male Tasmanian giant crabs reach more than twice the size of females, [7] which do not exceed 7 kg (15 lb). [6]
The crabs are typically caught using small trawling nets. [23] The population has decreased in number due to overfishing, forcing fishermen into exploring deeper waters to catch them. The average size caught by fishermen is a legspan of 1.0–1.2 m (3 ft 3 in – 3 ft 11 in). [17]
Hermit crab species range in size and shape, from species only a few millimeters long to Coenobita brevimanus (Indos Crab), which can approach the size of a coconut and live 12–70 years. The shell-less hermit crab Birgus latro (coconut crab) is the world's largest terrestrial invertebrate .
The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is a terrestrial species of giant hermit crab, and is also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod known, with a weight of up to 4.1 kg (9 lb). The distance from the tip of one leg to the tip of another can be as wide as 1 m (3 ft 3 in).
They can also grow to be an average size of 6–10 inches (15–25 cm), with a carapace, or the dorsal side of the exoskeleton, growing upwards of 12 inches (30 cm) wide. [1] This makes the Puget Sound king crab one of the largest crabs on the West Coast of the United States and yet it is still one of the hardest crab species to find.
The 67,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at 0.1 mm (0.004 in), to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span of up to 3.8 m (12.5 ft) and a mass of 20 kg (44 lb). Like other arthropods, crustaceans have an exoskeleton, which they moult to grow.