Coconut Crab: World’s Largest Arthropod

ORIGINAL: My Amazing Earth

by Amazing Earth

September 6, 2012

The coconut crab is the largest land-living arthropod in the world. It is also called robber crab, terrestrial hermit crab, and palm thief. The species inhabits the coastal forest regions of many Indo-Pacific islands.

The diet of coconut crabs, which are omnivorous, consists of fruits, coconuts, seeds, dead animals, and even other crabs. They will steal food from one another, and they tend to eat in rock crevices or burrows where they can do so undisturbed. Their burrows often are lined with fibers from coconut husks.

Coconut crab is also considered as an aphrodisiac.