Crab is a creature that is found residing, along side beaches, in almost all the countries of the world. It is omnivorous in nature and feeds on a diet comprising of algae, mollusks, worms, other crustaceans, fungi, bacteria and detritus, etc. Being crustaceans, of the infraorder Brachyura, crabs usually inhabit brackish water i.e. a mix of fresh and saline water. They greatly differ in size, depending upon the species, and go from being a few millimeters in size to having a leg span of up to 4 meters. In case you want to know more about crabs, make use of the interesting and amazing information given below.
Facts about Crab
Binomial Name: Callinectes sapidus
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Smallest Species: Pea Crab
Largest Breed: Japanese Spider Crab
Diet: Omnivorous
Natural Habitat: Brackish water
Interesting & Amazing Information on Crabs
- The teeth of a crab are in its stomach.
- The biggest crab till date was found in Maryland. It was a male and measured 9 inches.
- After losing its claw, a crab can grow it back.
- Crabs are also called decapods, since they have ten (deca) legs (pods). The first pair of legs is modified into claws, biologically known as chelae.
- Crabs are crustaceans i.e. unlike most of the other animals; they do not have an endoskeleton. Rather, they have an exoskeleton that acts like a shied for their body.
- Crabs are also arthropods i.e. they have segmented appendages, just like cockroach, butterfly, housefly, etc.
- Unlike most of the other creatures, crabs do not have separate thorax and abdomen. Rather, in most of the crabs, they are joined together and known as cephalothoraxes.
- The male crabs have narrow abdomens, while the female crabs have broader abdomens.
- Japanese Spider Crab can have a walking leg span of 3 to 4 m, which can go to 8 m when outstretched.
- Japanese Spider Crab is the oldest crab of the world and is also believed to be the most deep-living crab as well as the one with the longest lifespan.
- Hermit Crabs, King Crabs, Horseshoe Crabs and Porcelain Crabs are not true crabs. This is because they are not decapods.
- Fiddler Crabs have a single large claw on one side, which they can raise in an action that looks similar to that of a person waving.
- The most colorful crab in the world is probably the Sally Lightfoot Crab. It has red, orange, yellow and white colors.
- The species of crab that is consumed the most in the world is the Japanese Blue Crab or the Horse Crab.
