#feeling crabulous

Japanese spider crabs put the “leg” in “legendary!” These crustacean sensations are the largest crabs in the world, with ten appendages that can span up to 12 feet (3.8 meters) from claw to claw. The gangly, glorious giants travel easily over mud on their long and limber legs to scavenge leftover scraps or dead animals that fall from above.

Our new exhibit, “Into the Deep: Exploring Our Undiscovered Ocean,” features a whale-fall community living around the model bones of a young sperm whale, including several male spider crabs—only the males grow such gargantuan limbs.

Things can get a little testy at times between the male crabs, especially around molting time—so we’ve come prepared! When one of our crabs shows signs of molting, we can move them to their own private penthouse off to the side of the exhibit so they can shed their old exoskeleton and grow a new carapace in peace!

You’ll find these captivating crabs and other astonishing animals in our new exhibit “Into The Deep: Exploring Our Undiscovered Ocean” exhibition—WHICH OH HEY BY THE WAY IS OPEN TODAY, APRIL 9, 2022! We can’t wait to deep-sea you!

AND ONE MORE THING! You can now see these beauties for yourself on our new live Spider Crab Cam!