Japanese spider crab
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| Japanese spider crab
Conservation status: Data deficient | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Spider_crab_at_the_Kaiyukan_in_Osaka,_Japan.JPG | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Macrocheira kaempferi Temminck, 1836 |
The Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) is the largest crab alive; fully grown it can reach a leg span of almost 4 m (13 feet), a body size of up to 37 cm (15 inches) and a weight of up to 20 kg (44 pounds). The crab's natural habitat is on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean (some 300 m deep) around Japan, where it feeds on dead animals and shellfish. It is believed to have a life expectancy of up to 100 years.
This particular type of crab is feared by some fishermen and sailors because some of the larger ones have been seen eating the flesh of drowned men.
See also
Template:Invertebrate-stub de:Japanische Riesenkrabbe ja:タカアシガニ