Shame-faced Crab

Image: Kevin Bryant

The crab that speaks no evil!

Shame-faced Crabs are a whole host of crabs in the genus Calappa, found in shallow, tropical seas all over the world.

Image: Kevin Bryant

They get their name from the fact that they always hold their claws over their face as if they're ashamed of something! But they don't have anything to be ashamed of... they have gigantic claws, instead.

Image: Martin Lagerwey

I suppose the actual pincers are quite sizeable on their own, but they're at the end of huge arms so that they look like hands popping out of voluminous sleeves.

Image: Kevin Bryant

The arms wrap all the way around the sides of the body and can clip into place to protect the legs and underbelly from unwanted attention.

Video: siratus56
Reminds me of a Dalek!

It's as if there's a crab version of the Transformers where crabs turn into misshapen cannon balls. Hey, at least it's more useful than the ones that turn into cassette tapes.

Image: Kevin Bryant

This defensive stance, along with their sheer (and sometimes hilarious) bulk, is where they get their other name from: the Box Crab.

Image: Philippe Guillaume

Some Shame-faced Crabs also have great camouflage so you can barely see them against the sand and stones they walk on. It gets even more difficult when they bury themselves in that same sand and stone leaving scarcely more than a pair of eyes betraying their presence. This crab leaves nothing to chance!

Video: Quaoar Power

But it's not all running and hiding for the Shame-faced Crab. They have gigantic claws, remember?

Image: Moorea Biocode

One of those claws has a strange, rounded tooth half way along it. It's massive! And it's used to crack open the shells of snails and shellfish. The other claw is much longer and slimmer and is used to tear the meat out.

Image: Kevin Bryant

That's horrible!

Image: Kevin Bryant

You ought to be ashamed of yourself.