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type Status Habitat

ARTHROPOD

STABLE

PACIFIC ISLAND



Coconut crabs live in the Indian Ocean and the central Pacific Ocean, with a distribution that closely matches that of the coconut palm.

Coconut meat is also a food source for the coconut crab.


























A name that fits

This crab's name comes from its looks and diet. The brown and green colors of a coconut crab's shell help it blend in when it climbs palm trees to get coconuts to eat. This crab's pincers are strong enough to clip a coconut from the tree stem and crack into the shell.

Check that shell

Coconut crabs are related to hermit crabs, and they act like it when they're young. Because its shell is thin and soft when it is small, a juvenile coconut crab wears an empty seashell or coconut husk on its back. As the crab grows, its shell becomes thicker and harder-a super suit of armor!

FEATURES


LARGE AND IN CHARGE

  • Coconut crabs are the largest land arthropods in the world. They are found on islands in the Indian Ocean, the Indo-Pacific region, and the southern Pacific Ocean. They eat coconut meat, fruit, nuts, seeds, and carrion.

    • BABIES AT SEA

  • Coconut crab eggs hatch in the ocean, and the larvae float in the sea for up to 28 days.