Crabs 🦀
For some people the very mention of the word 'crab' makes the mouth water as they think of crab soups or curries. For others it brings smiles of amusement as they think of these freaky crustaceans skittering sideways on their tiptoe. A walk along the beach never fails to reveal a variety of crabs, but there are land crabs too. Life on the seashore can be rather difficult for those creatures, for they must make the most of the few hours of low tide, when the sea ebbs, to dig their burrows and feed. Imagine your home to be submerged under sea water every few hours and you have to repeatedly carry out repairs in the short span when the sea recedes!
Sand Bubbler Crabs:
While walking along the wet sand just beyond the water mark on a beach, you may have come across tiny sand balls radiating in straight lines around a minute hole, forming a striking pattern. This piece of art is the work of Sand Bubbler Crabs, which come out of their chimney-like burrows to feed. The fine layer of organic matter from around sand grains is what they dine on after which they mould the sand grains into little pellets. The pellets, strung like beads, appear like a sunburst and are the hallmarks of these crabs.
Fiddler Crabs
Moving on to wetlands, you may come across an army of crabs, the males among them waving one of their bright, cherry-red claws that is much larger than the other. To some people they appear to be playing a fiddle, for which reason they are called Fiddler Crabs. But in actual fact the crabs are neither waving nor fiddling. The strange exercise is to attract their would-be female partners or to ward off rival males. Adding to this comical behaviour are their long, stalked eyes that look like matchsticks and sometimes pop out like the periscope of a submarine. The waving action is not the only absurd behavior among fiddler crabs. Sometimes all of them, males and females, appear to be performing a mass drill. They raise their bodies altogether by standing on the tips of their legs, claws held upwards, then squat down on the sand and repeat this again and again.
Clapping Crabs
Now, here is another crab that, unlike the fiddler crab, does not wave, but keeps clapping! Clapping Crabs, with an interesting zigzag border on their carapace, open wide their claws as if inviting someone to hug them. Move a little closer and the claws come together with an audible 'clap'. They are not applauding you or the other creatures around. Clapping for them is a manner of threatening any potential enemy.
Ghost Crabs
Higher up on sandy beaches you find sand-coloured crabs with a square body, which are very difficult to spot. They run extremely fast on the tips of their pointed legs, casting shadows. Then suddenly, they stop and lower their body, so that their shadow disappears. It seems as though the crab has melted into the sand. These are ghost crabs, rightly so called. Moreover, they produce creaky or eerie sounds by rubbing their claws together, offering up a stronger reason to be called by this name. As if to fully justify the moniker they have earned, ghost crabs even have a fierce countenance-protruding from their head are two horns with eyes in the middle of the horns.
Robber Crabs
Residing in the Indian Ocean islands like the Andaman and Nicobar islands is one of the rarest and largest crabs, the robber crab or coconut crab. This land crab has been conferred this notorious reputation because it is known to climb up coconut trees, pierce the coconut shell with its very sharp claws, break it open with its phenomenal strength, feast on the kernel within and drink up the coconut water! These Herculean crabs are 30cm long and 20cm wide and weigh a whopping 3 to 5 kilograms. They hide in 'dens' amongst the roots of trees. Besides coconuts, these crabs also enjoy feasting on chikoos, jackfruits and pandanus (screw pine) fruits.
On and on we go- each of the 4,500 species of crabs has a story to tell. Perhaps you can go for a marine walk and witness them first hand. If you don't live in a coastal town, the monsoon is the best time to meet a land crab and learn its secrets!
