The coconut crab or Birgus latro, is a crustacean of the infraorder Anomura to which the crabs belong hermits In English he is known as palm thief, for his ability to open coconuts, his main food. It is the second largest crab in the world and the heaviest. In addition to "stealing" coconuts, this friendly and harmless crab is tremendously attracted to shiny objects such as cutlery or jewelry. Objects are frequently stolen by these animals in the areas where they live.
Discover in this breed file on our site everything about the coconut crab including images and videos at the end of the file about its habitat, behavior and complete biography.
Coconut Crab Habitat
As we explained in our article on Where the coconut crab lives, it is a species that is mainly present in the Indian Ocean although we also find it in the Pacific. The Christmas Islands, the Seychelles Islands, the Bay of Bengal or the Cook Islands are some of the places inhabited by these curious crustaceans.
Physical appearance
The coconut crab is usually about 40 centimeters long, although its legs can reach a meter in length. Its weight is usually around 4 kilograms, a variation that will depend on the specific specimen and its sex. As with many animal species, there is a slight sexual dimorphism that gives males greater size.
Coconut crab legs are extremely strong and resistant, capable of supporting up to 29 kilograms of weight. It is a very important feature as it allows it to properly transport the coconuts it feeds on.
As we have mentioned before, the coconut crab belongs to the infraorder of the well-known hermit crabs. Having somewhat soft skin, it uses shells or shells to protect itself, it also usually uses coconut shells, other people's shells and even shells until it reaches adulthood. That's when they begin to reinforce their abdominal wall with large deposits of calcium and keratin, something that protects them and helps them not lose the ideal moisture they need.
Coconut Crab Feeding
The coconut crab's diet is primarily based on coconuts although it also enjoys eating figs, leaves, turtle eggs and carcasses to your calcium intake. Other fruits present in the different habitats are also of interest to the coconut crab.
It is truly amazing to watch a coconut crab opening its most precious fruit, the coconut. It pierces the hard skin with the pricks and opens the fruit to eat its contents. This is a very surprising behavior as it is not practiced by other types of crab.
Behaviour
The coconut crab makes its own burrows in sandy places or soft soil, it also uses hiding places such as cracks to take refuge from its predators.
Its habits are mainly nocturnal as it provides a cool and humid environment, ideal for this type of crab. However, on rainy and especially humid days we can also enjoy the presence of this crustacean.
It is curious to know that, despite being a land animal, the coconut crab also has the ability to swim, something that it loses when it reaches adulthood. Can reach reach up to 60 years of age.
