King Crab

True Wild Life | King Crab | King Crabs are known for their sheer size but only a couple of species get really big. King crabs are mainly found in the Southern Hemisphere where the waters are warmer but the Alaskan king crab is the obvious exception to this as the waters there are near freezing. Red king crabs can have a leg span of up to 1.8m, blue king crabs often weigh over 8kg! King crabs hunt small fish and plankton in the oceans and are often found close to coral reefs or rocky areas where there are plenty of places for the king crab to hide.

The king crab is generally believed to come from the ancestors of hermit crabs, as with many species of crab today. King crabs are hunted all year round by fisherman and the king crab is seen to be delicacy in many parts of the world.

There are thought to be around 40 different species of king crab today, nearly all of which are hunted for food by humans due to their large size and the taste of their flesh. The most popular king crab for a human catch, is the red king crab as the red king crab is one of the largest species and one of the most readily available species of king crab in the ocean.

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Hermit Crab

True Wild Life | Hermit Crab | The hermit crab is a small sized crustacean, that is found in ocean waters worldwide.Despite its snail-like appearance the hermit crab is related to crabs, although they are not that closely related as the hermit crab is not a true crab. There are more than 500 different species of hermit crab found in marine habitats all around the world. Although hermit crabs do venture into deeper waters,they are more commonly found in coastal waters where there is more food and places to hide.

The hermit crab has a soft under-body which it protects by carrying a shell on its back. The shell of the hermit crab is not its own, but one that belonged to another animal. As hermit crabs grow, they continue to find larger shells to accomodate their increasing size. Hermit crabs are omnivorous animals that eat pretty much anything they can find in the surrounding water. Small fish and invertebrates including worms, are the most common prey for the hermit crab along with plankton and other food particles in the water.

Due to their small size, hermit crabs have numerous natural predators all around the world, which includes sharks, fish, cuttlefish, squid and octopuses. It is thought that hermit crabs often hide amongst other animals such as sea anemones as a form of natural protection.

After mating, the female hermit crab carries large numbers of eggs in a mass that is attached to her abdomen. The hermit crab larvae hatch into the open ocean in just a few weeks, where they quickly moult exposing the adult hermit crab body underneath.

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Crab

True Wild Life | Crab | The crab is a type of crustacean similar to prawns, shrimp and lobster. There are more than 6,700 known species of crab found in waters worldwide and these many crab species are split into around 93 different crab groups. Most crab species are found in the shallower ocean waters where the crabs tend to inhabit rocky pools and coral reefs. There are however, a number of species of freshwater crab that inhabit the waters in rivers and lakes and some species of tropical crab have been known to spend a great deal of time on land.

Generally crabs dont get bigger than 40 cm in size, with the exception of the Japanese spider crab that has been known to have a leg span of over 4 meters long! The smallest type crab is the pea crab with this tiny species of crab only growing to a few millimeters.

Crabs have a thick armoured shell which protects the crab from immediate danger. The crab also has two front armoured claws which the crab uses to catch its prey.

The crabs hunt by sitting in a dark hole and catching potential prey that swims past. This allows the crab to feed effectively as well as staying hidden from those that would want to eat the crab.

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