Coconut Crabs (Birgus latro)* are part of the hermit crab family. When juveniles, the Coconut crabs occupy a gastropod shell. When 2-3 years old, they abandon the shell, develop an exoskeleton and become a miniature of the adult Coconut crab.
Coconut Crabs can weigh up to nine pounds and can be three feet long (that's one yard!). These grabby little goomers have the name coconut crab because they can climb coconut trees and snap off the branch where the coconut hangs with their powerful claws. If the coconut does not crack open on the fall, this crab must husk the fibers away and make a small hole. After they make a bigger hole, they can snap it with their claw and eat the fleshy part.
This amazing animal lives in sandy burrows and coral or rock crevices. They can be found in The Seychelles in the Indian Ocean to Easter Islands in the Pacific. They have adapted so well to living on land, that they can drown when in water!
Want to learn more about Coconut crabs? Here are some wonderful websites that include pictures and videos:
http://www.arkive.org/coconut-crab/birgus-latro/video-00.html (We found ARKive on Google Earth and it is an amazing website)
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/2811/0
Happy Traveling!
Leanne and Flora
Footnotes:
*also known as the Robber Crab or the Palm thief.
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