realmonstrosities:Paromola cuvieri is a species of crab belonging to a group known as carrier
realmonstrosities: Paromola cuvieri is a species of crab belonging to a group known as carrier crabs.Carrier crabs just LOVE to carry things.They’re specially adapted for it, too. Their hindmost legs are positioned in such a way that they point straight up and can hold sponges or lumps of coral aloft.Presumably it helps with camouflage so they just look like a sponge with massive crab legs sticking out for no discernible reason.This particular species comes from deep, dark depths near Europe and Africa, and they reach about 20 cm long. Males have enormous claws that can span as much as four feet! Good luck hiding that.…Images: OCEANA -- source link
#nature#animals#carrier crab#paromola cuvieri#paromola#underwater#sea life#arthropoda#crustacea#malacostraca#decapoda#homolidae#zoology