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.
coconut crabs are edible… the easiest way to cook them is by steaming…
taste is similar to crabs and lobster with coconut aftertaste because of their diet. but it is endangered now and most countries prohibit eating them.
i like the crab he is so big and its cool
oh my god, that crab is huge, and i thought spiders were scary
Yes, Coconut crabs are edible. We call them Ayuyu (ah-JOOH-jooh) here on Guam. My dad, The Famous Master Ifil Carver, from Yigo, Guam has been trapping Coconit crabs all his life. He preserves them on Ifit Wood at his SHop at Chamorro Village in Hagatna. The oldest living crab my Robert Phiillip Taitano has caught was estimated at around 100 years old. It weighed 12 pounds, and fit on top of a 55 Gallon Trash Can lid. To see more pics, and chat with the Master Carver himself, tune into http://www.og-leetchat.net On Wednesday and Friday Nights. This is a video-chat site that you can see LIVE coconut crabs on camera. Guam time Wednesdays and Fridays between 5pm=10pm. YOu can see for yourself, LIVE, the amazing strength of the pincers as they tear up Water bottles and coconuts, for demonstration purposes. Thanks for your interest in the culture, and our CoConut Crab. Rodney Taitano
I just ate one of those crabs in the French Polynesia and it was very tasty but very expensive, around $90 US. Aito resturant in Moorea.
Excellent info. Very helpful, you describe the topic very well
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That sounds credible.
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how the heck did this thing even get here in the first place someone said that they were small. Crap this thing could kill someone. :[ :O: .