Baked crab! Hilarious pictures of sunbathing crustacean prove it's really NOT better under the sea but on the sand

By LAURA COX

Life's a beach: The cheery crab catches some rays in California

When hot weather strikes there are few who can resist the charms of the beach for a spot of sunbathing, including this crab.
It was spotted soaking up rays on the shore of California's South Lake Tahoe by photographer Nick Brown who whipped out his camera to get a shot of it.
The crab appeared in its element as it posed for the camera, enjoying itself too much to even think about snapping back.
'I was down on the beach just for a walk and stumbled across this little guy taking in the hot weather,' Brown told The Sun.

'There was something almost human-like about how he was enjoying the rays.
'He was definitely content sitting there, although it was so hot I’m sure it wasn’t long before he went back to cool off in the water.'
The England-born photographer now lives in Sausalito, California, working mainly out of a San Francisco office.


Chillaxing: The crab was spotted sunbathing by photographer Nick Brown

A scuba-diving fanatic, much of Brown's work features sea life.
His find comes a week after family in Washington State discovered Jesus Christ's image peering up at them from the underside of a crab.
In a bizarre twist, the face was also the spitting image of Osama bin Laden.
The family were unloading a pot of crabs into their boat when they filmed the creature.
They finally spotted the holy - or evil - crab, while watching the film after they got home from holidays, and were dumbfounded.

source: dailymail

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Tiny purple invaders from the deep: Millions of strange pea-sized crabs wash up on Hawaii beach leaving experts baffled

By NICK ENOCH

Millions of weird little purple balls have been washing up on the coast of Honolulu over the past few days

Beachgoers in Hawaii have been left mystified after millions of tiny purple creatures, curled up in balls, appeared on the shoreline.
The identity of the strange, pea-sized animals - littered along the beaches of Oahu, Honolulu - has also perplexed marine biologists, who have never seen anything like it.
Most of the crabs, which washed up in the surf over the past few days, were dead or dying.

Many of the tiny crustaceans found on the shoreline were dead or dying

On closer inspection, scientists believe the creatures, less than an inch long, may be the larvae of 7-11 crabs


Experts at Waikiki Aquarium believe they may be the larval stages of the 7-11 crab, a crustacean commonly found in the area, but added there has never been an event like this before.
Norton Chan, a biologist at the aquarium, said: 'What you are seeing is a swimming stage, probably a few more molts before they settle into their crab stage self.'

Researchers are said to be studying those which are still alive to try to find out what they will grow to become.

The little crabs are less than an inch long and, if they are 7-11 crabs, they will eventually grow to around six or seven inches.
'The lifeguard called and asked what these things were because she had reports that surfers were actually having these things crawl up on their boards and onto them,' Mr Chan added.
Meanwhile, one resident told KHON news: 'It's really weird.
'It looks like you want to eat it like a berry.'
Another said: 'When something washes up like this, you don't know what to expect - maybe tsunami stuff.'
The coastline affected stretches from Kahala to Ala Moana on the southern tip of Honolulu.
Dr Andrew Rossiter, director of the Waikiki Aquarium, reckoned that the crabs were washed up after rough seas left air bubbles in their shells, leaving them unable to dive.

Dr Andrew Rossiter, director of the Waikiki Aquarium, reckoned that the crabs were washed up after rough seas left air bubbles in their shells, leaving them unable to dive

As a result of this, they get caught up in tides and come ashore.
'It could be a flux of warm or cold water coming in but I don't have any signs of that,' Dr Rossiter told Hawaii News Now.
He added: 'And if it was pollution, it would have affected other species as well, so we really don't know [why this is happening].'

One local said: 'It's really weird. It looks like you want to eat it like a berry'

Experts at Waikiki Aquarium said they had never seen an event like this before

source: dailymail

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Sea you later! Crab who picks up unwanted friend in adorable puppy... and leaves him disappointed as he runs for ocean

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Stare: The pup stopped its chase for the occasional starting contest

A playful pup has found its match in an unlikely opponent - a crab.
An adorable video, posted on YouTube, captures the moment a two-year-old dachshund makes friend, or foe, with a side-stepping ghost crab on a South Carolina beach.
The energetic puppy, named Madeline, is shown bounding around with her new playmate on the sandy beach in Pawley's Island.
She only stops to stare down her rival, who looks like he'd like to take a swipe at her snout. Instead, the white crab darts in all directions in an unsuccessful attempt to escape Madeline's clutches. But the game of cat and mouse finally comes to an end when the agile crustacean gets close enough to the water that a wave washes him out to sea.

Friends: The ghost crab, pictured, tries to evade the playful dachshund

The rescue dog is left looking toward the horizon forlorn and pensive, missing her new best buddy.
The two minute video could be an advert for the South Carolina island, with the sea sparking in the sunshine and the bright white sand clean and deserted.
The footage was uploaded last year by Madeline's owner, Jason Wheeler, but has gone viral in the past week, clocking nearly 100,000 views.

Cute: Two-year-old pup Madeline, pictured, chases the crab energetically around the beach

Confused: Madeline, pictured, watches as the crab scurries away

Pensive: The pup looks forlorn after her friend rides a wave out to sea



source: dailymail

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A crustacean's creation: The incredible sand ball 'galaxies' of the humble hermit crab

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Coming out of its shell: During the molting process, a hermit crab will re-grow any limbs it has lost

They could be the work of a talented artist with far too much time on his hands.
But these spectacular sculptures are in fact created by dozens of hermit crabs as they tunnel into the sand.
The intricate patterns form when the tiny crustaceans push out two or three sand balls to the surface at a time, resulting in unusual, large-scale arrangements.


Out of this world: These intricate galaxy-like sculptures were produced by hermit crabs as they burrow into the sand on a beach in Malaysia Borneo

Flower power: The crustaceans clearly have a penchant for floral designs from the look of this image

Humble, but mighty: The tiny crabs use their claws to dig tunnels in the beach, roll up the sand and toss the balls behind them

Photographer Alexander Yurusov, 43, spotted the crab construction while wandering along Nexus Karambunai beach in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo, in January.
He said: 'By pushing sandballs from tunnels in the sand it forms "sand ball flowers" or a "sand ball galaxy".
'In the evening, a high tide wave will wash everything away and the crabs will start their construction all over again the next day during low tide.'

Labouring the point: The scale of the work is quite remarkable for such tiny crabs. And it all gets washed away when the tide comes in

Practical: The crabs create the tunnels to get protection from the elements during molting season, which occurs roughly every 18 months

Meticulous: The crabs will push two or three sand balls to the surface at a time

He added: 'If you look up close, you can see the almost perfectly spherical balls that the crabs engineer. They are meticulous in their method.'
When they molt, the hermit crabs burrow into the sand for privacy and protection from the elements.
During the process, which usually happens roughly every 18 months for a hermit crab, it will also re-grow any limbs it has lost.
Crabs are also known to create such sand balls while feeding.
They start by collecting sand and quickly sift it in search of microscopic food before gathering what's left behind into a sphere and throwing it behind its legs.

source: dailymail

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Claw blimey: How the urge to mate drives crabs on a marathon five-day trek

By Daily Mail Reporter

Red Christmas crabs usually only exercise ten minutes a day, but they make a marathon journey to mate


Scientists have long been baffled by how one idle species of crab can make a marathon five day journey to their mating grounds each year.

Now a team of British researchers have worked out how the passionate crustaceans manage to rouse themselves from their lethargy.

The famous red land crabs of Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, spend the dry season lying dormant in their inland burrows.

But when the monsoon season arrives the crustaceans feel the urge to mate - and biological signals trigger 'dramatic' changes in their leg muscles.

The crabs, which usually rouse themselves for just ten minutes of daily exercise, travel for 12 hours a day for five days to their mating grounds near the sea.

British researchers have now discovered that the incredible transformation occurs after the crabs change their weak leg muscles fibres into high-endurance tissue.

Biology professor Mark Viney, who carried out the research with a team from the University of Bristol, said: 'The muscles in your legs are different from the muscles in your heart because they do different things.

'In the same way these crabs need to do different things, so at one point they need to go on this long migration to breed and they actually change their leg muscles to do that.

'The muscles are made of fibres that contract and there are different types of muscle fibre that require different amounts of energy as well as having different properties of how long they can carry on activity for.

'What these crabs do is change the flavour of their muscles quite dramatically in the sense of what those leg muscles can do.'


When the monsoon season arrives the crustaceans feel the urge to mate - and biological signals trigger 'dramatic' changes in their leg muscles


The groundbreaking project was initially led by Professor Steve Morris from the University of Bristol, who has tragically passed away since it was completed.

Dr Morris and his colleagues carried out detailed genetic analysis of samples of leg muscle taken from the crabs during their dormant and migratory periods.

They found that the crabs made "major" physiological changes to their muscle composition to become aerobic and highly resistant to fatigue.

The changes allow the crabs to be on the move for up to 12 hours a day during the monsoon season compared with an average of ten minutes during the dry season.

Professor Viney added: 'The transformed muscle groups can then perform much greater tasks - they become high endurance muscles which the crabs need for their migration.

'People knew that the animals had to change to make this huge, sudden migration, but we've found out what that change is and how it happens.

'It happens over a short period of time, a matter of weeks.'

Up to 120 million red crabs live on Christmas Island and their migration often completely blocks traffic routes.

The research has been published in the May issue of The Journal of Experimental Biology.


source: dailymail

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Fruits of the sea: Startling strawberry crab discovered off Taiwan

A new species of crab has been found on a beach of Pingtung, southern Taiwan

A marine biologist has discovered a startling new crab species that resembles a large strawberry.

The unusual crustacean was found off the coast of southern Taiwan. It has a dramatic bright red shell covered with small white bumps.

Professor Ho Ping-ho from the National Taiwan Ocean University said the crab resembles a species called Neoliomera Pubescens, that lives in the areas around Hawaii, Polynesia and Mauritius.

However it has a clam-shaped shell about 1 inch wide, which makes it distinct.
Crabs are omnivores feeding primarily on algae. There are more than 5,000 known species in the world.


The crab was discovered by Professor Ho Ping-ho from National Taiwan Ocean University


Professor Ho said his team found two female crabs of the new species last June off the coast of Kenting National Park, known for its rich marine life.

The crabs died shortly afterwards, possibly because the water in the area was polluted by a cargo ship that ran aground.

Taiwanese crab specialist Wang Chia-hsiang confirmed Professor Ho's finding.

source: dailymail

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