Holy shit! It’s huge!
It’s called the Coconut crab (Birgus latro). The largest land-living arthropod in the world. It is a highly apomorphic hermit crab and is known for its ability to crack coconuts with its strong pincers in order to eat the contents.
The coconut crab is also called the robber crab or palm thief, because some coconut crabs are rumored to steal shiny items such as pots and silverware from houses and tents.
The Coconut Crab lives almost exclusively on small tropical islands.
Don’t worry this giant is completely harmless. It’s diet consists primarily of fruit, including coconuts (Cocos nucifera) and figs (Ficus species). However, they will eat nearly anything organic, including leaves, rotten fruit, tortoise eggs, dead animals, and the shells of other animals, which are believed to provide calcium.
Some are even kept as pets in Japan.
However, if a human is caught with a pincer, reportedly the crabs do not release their grip easily. Ouch!
So, if you see one don’t kill it just because it creeps you out.
I wonder if it’s edible.
This reminds me a lot of the mammoth spider.
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