Giant Japanese Spider Crab by goodoleboy
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
Captured 6/21/11, on my second visit to the beautiful Aquarium of the Pacific, in beautiful Long Beach, California.
Better viewed via ZOOM.
Please excuse the tons of noise in the top pic, but the lighting was rather dim, and I'm no expert at aquarium fotos. I took about seven shots and these are the best of the lot. Most of the time I luck out, sometimes I don't.
----------------------
The Japanese spider crab, Macrocheira kaempferi, is a species of marine crab that lives in the waters around Japan. The species has the greatest leg span of any arthropod, reaching 3.8 meters (12 ft 6 in) from claw to claw. The body may grow to a size of 40 centimeters or 16 inches (carapace width) and the whole crab can weigh up to 41 pounds (19 kg). It is the males which have the longest chelipeds; females have much shorter chelipeds, which are shorter than the following pair of legs. Apart from its outstanding size, the Japanese spider crab differs from other crabs in a number of ways. The first pleopods of males are unusually twisted, and its larvae appear primitive. The crab is orange, with white spots along the legs. It is reported to have a gentle disposition in spite of its ferocious appearance.
In its natural habitat, the Japanese spider crab feeds on shellfish and animal carcasses, and may live for up to 100 years.
Source: Wikipedia free encyclopedia.
The guys shown here really weren't that large, possibly babies, and their legs remind me of pretzel sticks.
Sayonara, thankx for coming by, and for any and all favs and complimentary comments.
Comments (13)
morningglory
Very interesting creatures, Harry. The second pic is excellent with lots of detail. Top one looks almost like you were using some of your creative filters on it.
danapommet
Great shots Harry and wonderful information. I did not know about their size. Dana
Feliciti
looks very big this sort !! cool capture with great details about !!! :) says thanks too
magnus073
These really are some amazing captures Harry, nicely done
Hendesse
Interesting shots and information. If I may give you a hint: For photos of aquariums or terrariums always keep the lens directly on the glass, then you have no reflections in the picture. Apart from that, superb photos with great detail.
durleybeachbum
The French are crazy about eating Spider crabs, and the English are not, so we trot our catch across to them every day!
MrsRatbag
Spiders spiders everywhere...wow, I didn't know that there were any crabs that got so huge, that would be scary indeed to come across while swimming! Aside from the noise in the top shot, great work showing these baby monsters, Harry. Yikes!
bmac62
Fine photos of these denizens of the deep. Like Denise, I had no idea of the size these guys could achieve. Interesting place...minus the kids:)
blondeblurr
Fascinating to see what lives beneath us - I would be too scared to go for a swim with those around ;-) thanks for sharing this info Harry, BB
tennesseecowgirl
I agree with Klaus hold camera close to glass, unless you are using a flash, higher ISO and fast shutter speed, and take lots of shots from different angles. Great shots I am always amazed at all the different varieties of species there are when you visit these places.
npauling
Great captures of these little critters and I think you have done a great job of catching them under difficult circumstances. They surely are big from claw to claw and will keep me out of the water I'm afraid.
Rainastorm
Almost looks like he could be related to a crab! What a cool capture Harry! And I am working solely on commenting on your posts Ive missed today...lol Summer time is hectic time here!
debbielove
Now THESE are weird looking.. The bottom photo of the two, is great! Really clear, good work for an underwater picture.. Well done mate, sorry I missed this! Rob