Palm thief or coconut crab. Palm thief or coconut crab (lat.

Seeing this amazing arthropod, anyone faint of heart will shudder in horror and surprise - after all, there is nothing in the world more interesting and, at the same time, more terrible than the coconut crab. In any case, among arthropods - after all, he is rightfully considered their largest representative.

1. The coconut crab has many other “names”: for example, thief crab or palm thief - after all, this strange arthropod actually steals its prey. Travelers of past centuries who visited the islands located in the Western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean talk about how the coconut crab hides from prying eyes in the dense greenery of palm trees in order to then suddenly grab its prey lying right under a tree or nearby From him.

2. Coconut crab(lat. Birgus latro) is in fact not a crab at all, despite the striking similarity with the arthropod relative mentioned in the name. This is a land hermit crab, belonging to the species of decapod crayfish.

Strictly speaking, calling the palm thief a land arthropod is also a stretch, since part of its life is spent in the sea elements, and even tiny crustaceans are born in the water column. Newborn babies with a defenseless soft abdominal cavity busily crawl along the bottom of a reservoir in search of a reliable home, which can serve as a nut shell or an empty mollusk shell.

3. In “childhood,” birgus latro is not too different from a hermit crab: it drags its shell around with it and spends almost all its time in water. But once it emerges from the larval state and leaves the water, it is no longer able to return there, and at some point, even carry a shell-house with it. Unlike the abdomens of hermit crabs, its abdomen is not an Achilles heel and gradually hardens, and the tail curls under the body, protecting the body from cuts. Thanks to special lungs, he begins to breathe out of water.

In truth, most legends noted precisely this feature - the first Europeans who arrived on the islands described coconut crabs as creatures hiding in the foliage of trees with long claws that suddenly reached out to the ground and captured prey, even sheep and goats. Scientists have confirmed that birgus latro has great strength and can lift up to 30 kg of weight. However, they found that the crab uses its abilities to drag cargo from place to place, preferring to feed on dead animals, crabs and fallen fruits.

4. How do crayfish manage to exist equally comfortably both in water and on land? It turns out that wise nature provided them with two breathing instruments at once: lungs, ventilated by air on the surface of the earth, and gills, allowing them to breathe under water. But over time, the second organ loses its functions, and palm thieves have to completely switch to a terrestrial lifestyle.

5. Those who want to meet such a miracle would have to go to the tropics - coconut crabs are found on the islands Indian Ocean and on some western Pacific islands. It is not easy to see them in daylight: palm thieves are nocturnal, and in sunny times they hide in rock crevices or in sandy burrows lined with coconut fibers - this helps maintain the required level of humidity in the home.

6. And although the version that the crayfish is capable of splitting a coconut with its front claws failed miserably, its limbs are nevertheless developed enough to nimbly climb the trunk of a palm tree or bite off a person’s phalanx of a finger. And cancer is really partial to coconuts: the nutritious pulp is the main dish on its menu, to which it owes its “coconut” name.

7. Sometimes the diet of crayfish is enriched with pandan fruits, and according to some sources, palm thieves sometimes eat their own kind. A hungry crayfish unerringly finds the nearest “restaurant”: its internal navigator is its excellent sense of smell, which leads it to the food source, even if it is many kilometers away.

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Seeing this amazing arthropod, anyone faint of heart will shudder in horror and surprise - after all, there is nothing in the world more interesting and, at the same time, more terrible than the coconut crab. In any case, among arthropods - after all, he is rightfully considered their largest representative.

1. The coconut crab has many other “names”: for example, thief crab or palm thief - after all, this strange arthropod actually steals its prey. Travelers of past centuries who visited the islands located in the Western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean talk about how the coconut crab hides from prying eyes in the dense greenery of palm trees in order to then suddenly grab its prey lying right under a tree or nearby From him.

2. The coconut crab (lat. Birgus latro) is not actually a crab at all, despite the striking similarity to the arthropod relative mentioned in the name. This is a land hermit crab, belonging to the species of decapod crayfish.

Strictly speaking, calling the palm thief a land arthropod is also a stretch, since part of its life is spent in the sea elements, and even tiny crustaceans are born in the water column. Newborn babies with a defenseless soft abdominal cavity busily crawl along the bottom of a reservoir in search of a reliable home, which can serve as a nut shell or an empty mollusk shell.

3. In “childhood,” birgus latro is not too different from a hermit crab: it drags its shell around with it and spends almost all its time in water. But once it emerges from the larval state and leaves the water, it is no longer able to return there, and at some point, even carry a shell-house with it. Unlike the abdomens of hermit crabs, its abdomen is not an Achilles heel and gradually hardens, and the tail curls under the body, protecting the body from cuts. Thanks to special lungs, he begins to breathe out of water.

In truth, most legends noted precisely this feature - the first Europeans who arrived on the islands described coconut crabs as creatures hiding in the foliage of trees with long claws that suddenly reached out to the ground and captured prey, including sheep and goats. Scientists have confirmed that birgus latro has great strength and can lift up to 30 kg of weight. However, they found that the crab uses its abilities to drag cargo from place to place, preferring to feed on dead animals, crabs and fallen fruits.

4. How do crayfish manage to exist equally comfortably both in water and on land? It turns out that wise nature provided them with two breathing instruments at once: lungs, ventilated by air on the surface of the earth, and gills, allowing them to breathe under water. But over time, the second organ loses its functions, and palm thieves have to completely switch to a terrestrial lifestyle.

5. Those wishing to meet such a miracle would have to go to the tropics - coconut crabs are found on the islands of the Indian Ocean and on some Western Pacific islands. It is not easy to see them in daylight: palm thieves are nocturnal, and in sunny times they hide in rock crevices or in sandy burrows lined with coconut fibers - this helps maintain the required level of humidity in the home.

6. And although the version that the crayfish is capable of splitting a coconut with its front claws failed miserably, its limbs are nevertheless developed enough to nimbly climb the trunk of a palm tree or bite off a person’s phalanx of a finger. And cancer is really partial to coconuts: the nutritious pulp is the main dish on its menu, to which it owes its “coconut” name.

7. Sometimes the diet of crayfish is enriched with pandan fruits, and according to some sources, palm thieves sometimes eat their own kind. A hungry crayfish unerringly finds the nearest “restaurant”: its internal navigator is its excellent sense of smell, which leads it to the food source, even if it is many kilometers away.

8. As for the “thief status” of cancer, this is due to its uncontrollable desire to drag into its hole all sorts of things that are not good - edible and not so good.

Coconut crab meat is not only considered a delicacy, but also an aphrodisiac, which is why these arthropods are actively hunted. To prevent their complete extinction, some countries have strict restrictions on the harvesting of coconut crabs.

9. The body of the coconut crab, like all decapods, is divided into the front part (cephalothorax), on which there are 10 legs, and the stomach. The front, largest pair of legs has large claws (claws), and the left claw is much larger than the right. The next two pairs, like those of other hermits, are large, powerful with sharp ends, and are used by coconut crabs to travel along vertical or inclined surfaces. The fourth pair of legs is significantly smaller than the first three, which allows young coconut crabs to settle in mollusk shells or coconut shells and provide protection. Adults use this pair for walking and climbing. The last, very small pair, which is usually hidden inside the shell, is used by the females to care for the eggs and by the males for mating.

10. Except for the larval stage, coconut crabs cannot swim, and they will certainly drown if they remain in the water for more than an hour. To breathe, they use a special organ called gill lungs. This organ can be interpreted as a developmental stage between the gills and lungs, and is one of the coconut crab's most important adaptations to its environment. The branchial lungs contain tissues similar to those found in the gills, but are suitable for absorbing oxygen from the air rather than from water.

11. The coconut crab has a well-developed sense of smell, which it uses to search for food. Like most aquatic crabs, they have specialized organs located on their antennae that detect the concentration and direction of scent.

12. During the day, these arthropods sit out in burrows or rock crevices, which are lined with coconut fibers or leaves to increase the humidity in the home. While resting in its burrow, the coconut crab closes the entrance with one claw to maintain a humid microclimate in the burrow, which is necessary for its respiratory organs.

13. As the name suggests, this crab feeds on coconuts, and is in fact able to climb up to a height of 6 meters on a coconut tree, where it uses its powerful claws to pinch off coconuts if they are not already available on the ground. If a fallen coconut does not split when it falls, the crab will gut it for a week or even two until it gets to the juicy pulp of the nut. If the crab gets tired of this dreary work, he lifts the coconut up the tree and throws it down to make his work easier. Descending back to the ground, they sometimes fall, but without harm to their health they can survive a fall from a height of 4.5 meters. The coconut crab will not refuse other fruits, newborn turtles and carrion. They have also been observed catching and eating Polynesian rats.

14. Another name is palm thief, he received it for his love of everything shiny. If a spoon, fork, or other shiny object gets in the way of a crab, you can be sure that he will certainly try to drag it into his hole.

15. From the beginning of June to the end of August, the breeding season begins for palm thieves. The courtship process lasts long and tediously, but mating itself occurs quite quickly. The female carries fertilized eggs for several months on the underside of her abdomen. When the eggs are ready to hatch, the female goes down to the seashore at high tide and releases the larvae into the water. Over the next three to four weeks, the larvae floating in the water go through several stages of development. After 25 - 30 days, small crabs sink to the bottom and settle in shells gastropods, and are preparing to migrate to earth. At this time, babies sometimes visit land, and gradually losing the ability to breathe under water, they finally move to the main habitat. Coconut crabs reach sexual maturity approximately five years after hatching, but reach their maximum size only by the age of 40.

16. Palm thieves live in the tropics, on the Indian Islands and the western part Pacific Oceans. Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean has the highest population density of coconut crabs in the world.

17. Swedish and Australian scientists have confirmed the veracity of all the stories about coconut crabs. Thus, residents of the Pacific Islands claimed that they could smell, for example, meat or ripe fruit several kilometers away. And indeed, the special baits placed by the researchers immediately attracted the attention of the thieving crabs, who nevertheless disdained the ordinary pieces of bread that ordinary crabs are greedy for.

18. The function of a janitor is, of course, not bad and useful, however, since Birgus latro is a predominantly nocturnal creature and not very friendly, local residents are not particularly delighted when they stumble upon it. The decrease in its numbers forced local authorities to set a limit on catching birgus latro. In Papua New Guinea it is prohibited to include it in restaurant menus, on the island of Saipan it is prohibited to catch crabs with a shell less than 3.5 cm, and also from June to September, during the breeding season.

19. On the inner surface of the walls of the gill cavities of this land descendant of hermit crabs, grape-shaped folds of skin develop, in which numerous blood vessels branch. These are real lungs, allowing the use of oxygen from the air filling the gill cavities. The lungs are ventilated due to the movements of the scaphognathite, as well as due to the ability of animals from time to time to raise and lower the carapace, for which special muscles are used.

It is remarkable that the gills are also preserved, although they are relatively small in size. Removing the gills did not harm breathing at all; on the other hand, the crayfish completely lost the ability to breathe in water. The palm thief immersed in water died after 4 hours. The residual gills apparently do not function. The palm thief digs shallow burrows in the soil, which are lined with coconut fibers. Charles Darwin says that the natives on some islands select these fibers from the holes of the palm thief, which they need in their simple farming. Sometimes the palm thief is content with natural shelters - crevices in rocks, cavities in drained coral reefs, but even in such cases it uses plant material to line them, which retains high humidity in the housing.

Don’t put your finger in the palm thief’s mouth, or rather in the claw, he’ll bite it off. This is true. It is one of the largest arthropods in the world and its powerful pincers can crush small bones with ease.

These crayfish are common in the tropics on the islands of the Indian and western Pacific oceans.

Adults can reach a length of 35 centimeters and weigh 4 kilograms. Their main weapon is the front pair of walking legs - claws. With them they are able to crush and break coconut shells or small bones. The fourth and fifth pair of legs are very poorly developed.

Palm thieves have an excellent sense of smell. They have bristles and hairs of varying lengths. These are tactile receptors. Other crabs do not have such organs. Thanks to this sense of smell, crabs can smell food from several kilometers away.

Eyes

They have lungs that allow the crab to breathe on land. During their development in water, only their gills function. But as they grow older and reach land, they stop working, which prevents the crab from breathing underwater.

Adults feed on the flesh of coconuts, which is why they got their second name – coconut crab. Young people prefer small crustaceans, fruits of the Pandanus plant and organic matter soil.

These crayfish are more active at night. They are not distinguished by their friendly character.

They live in small sandy burrows, the walls of which are covered with coconut fibers. Sometimes they settle in rock crevices and cavities in drained coral reefs. They climb trees well and can climb palm trees to a height of up to 6 meters.

Their breeding season lasts from July to September. The courtship of males can be long and tedious. The female carries fertilized eggs on her abdomen. After ripening, she leaves them in water. The larvae live there for about a month, and then go in search of a shell - a “house”. Most often, its role is played by a shell or nut shell. During this period of life they are very similar to hermit crabs. Young crabs wear their house until their abdominal cavity gradually becomes hard. Then comes the molting period, during which the cancer sheds its shell several times. After this, its back and abdomen become hard, and its tail curls under the body, protecting the body from cuts.

He received his title of thief for dragging into his hole everything that is poorly hidden. It's not just food, but all kinds of shiny objects.

Their meat is a famous delicacy and is considered an aphrodisiac. This leads to a decrease in its numbers and forces the authorities of some countries to set restrictions on its catching. So on the island of Saipan it is prohibited to catch crayfish with a shell size of less than 3.5 centimeters and during the breeding season. And in Papua New Guinea it is prohibited to include its meat in restaurant menus.

The palm thief, or as it is also called the coconut crab, is the world's largest representative of decapod crabs from the superfamily of hermit crabs. Having studied the lifestyle of the palm thief, it is extremely difficult to call it a land arthropod, since it spends most of its life under water. Although the palm thief is not actually a crab, although it is extremely similar to it. His appearance will make any person afraid, as he looks like a terrible monster. And its claws can easily break bones, so it’s best to avoid encounters in wildlife with this crab.

Habitats

The palm thief also has many different names, for example: thief - he received this name because he really steals loot, so according to the stories of travelers, this representative of arthropods hides in the grass and waits for the opportunity to jump out and drag away its prey, which lies on the ground. It also has the name coconut crab - so it was called because he eats mainly coconuts, which it can break with its powerful front claws.

The coconut crab is a relative of the common hermit crab and is very similar in appearance. But unlike him, palm thieves use shells only for two years, after which they discard them, since they have very durable exoskeleton.

These representatives of crabs live on the islands of the Indian Ocean; most of the population is found on Christmas Island.

Appearance

The palm thief is the largest of the arthropods. Its body size can reach up to 40 centimeters in length, and The mass of the crab reaches four kilograms.

The body of the palm thief, like that of all representatives of arthropods, is divided into the front part, which includes all the limbs and the abdomen. The largest pair of legs are large and powerful claws, with which they can easily break coconuts. It can also be noted that the left claw is many times larger than the right one. The next pair of legs have sharp ends, with the help of which they can easily climb any trees. The next pair of legs is responsible for protection when the palm thief is in its shelter; they also use it for walking. The last pair of legs is the smallest; it is mainly located inside the shell and is used only by females to care for eggs, while males use them during the mating process.

The palm thief's body is protected by a powerful calcified exoskeleton. There is a special modification inside his body that is capable of gas exchange, which allows it to lead a terrestrial lifestyle. The arthropod also has gills, but they are extremely poorly developed, so it will not be able to live under water for a long time.

Lifestyle

• The diet of the palm thief includes various pandan fruits; its favorite delicacy is coconuts; it can also safely eat other representatives of arthropods. But in principle, the palm thief is an omnivore and can consume whatever it finds as food.
• Coconut crabs live in the ground. To do this, they dig, with the help of claws, shallow holes in which they cover the fibers from coconuts. I can also live in various crevices and coral reefs.
• They are mostly active at night. During the day they hide in their shelters.
• Representatives of arthropods live alone. Because they don't like other creatures. They are extremely aggressive towards anyone who enters his territory.

Coconut Crab Reproduction

Crabs usually begin to reproduce in mid-summer and end with the arrival of autumn. The male's courtship of the female takes a long time, after which they mate. After this, the female carries the eggs on her belly. When it is time to hatch, the female puts eggs in water and leaves them there.

Baby crabs are born as larvae, after which they swim freely for about a month, and then look for a place for permanent life. Having found shelter, they sit there until they develop a shell. This period lasts about twenty days. After this, they begin molting, during which the crab’s body changes. Now he becomes like an ordinary representative of the palm thief.

The still young crab lives mainly under water, but is already beginning to gradually crawl to the surface. As soon as the palm thief completely moves to land, he throws off the shell from his back and becomes like a hermit crab. They become fully adult crabs only in the fifth year of their life. And they reach their maximum size only at the age of forty.

Value for a person

This representative of crabs has always been very valuable for its uniqueness. Palm thief meat is a very rare delicacy.. It tastes similar to lobster or lobster meat. It is also highly valued for the fact that its meat provides a strong aphrodisiac effect that promotes sexual desire.

Due to mass hunting of crabs, the authorities of some countries were forced to ban the hunting of palm thieves in order to preserve their population.

• Representatives of palm thieves have a very highly developed sense of smell, so they can smell food from several tens of kilometers away.
• Coconut crabs have an excellent ability to climb trees, so they can easily climb to a height of about ten meters within a few seconds.
• Although the appearance of the crab is terrifying and can terrify anyone who sees it. The large land crab is absolutely harmless to humans if they do not touch it, in which case the crab can easily break the bones of the hand with its powerful claws.
• In Guinea, palm thief meat was a traditional dish until the country's government banned the capture of these representatives of arthropods. Now it is a rare delicacy, for which you will have to pay a large sum of money.

Origin of the species and description

They generally do not like to live near people, and the more developed the island becomes, the fewer palm thieves remain there. Small, preferably uninhabited islands suit them best. They make their burrows around coastline, in coral rock or rock cracks.

Interesting fact: These crayfish are often called coconut crabs. This name arose due to the fact that it was previously believed that they climb palm trees in order to cut coconuts and feast on them. But this is not so: they can only look for already fallen coconuts.

What does the palm thief eat?

Its menu is very diverse and includes both plants and living organisms, and carrion.

Most often he eats:

• contents of coconuts;
• pandan fruits;
• crustaceans;
• and other small animals.

He doesn’t care what living creatures he eats, as long as they are not poisonous. He catches any small prey that is not fast enough to get away from him, and not careful enough to avoid being caught by him. Although the main sense that helps him when hunting is smell.

He is able to smell prey at a great distance, up to several kilometers for things that are especially attractive and fragrant to him - namely, ripe fruits and meat. When residents of tropical islands told scientists about how good a sense of smell these crayfish have, they thought that they were exaggerating, but experiments confirmed this information: the baits attracted the attention of palm thieves at a distance of kilometers, and they unmistakably gravitated towards them!

Owners of such a phenomenal sense of smell are definitely not in danger of dying from hunger, especially since coconut thief not picky, he can easily eat not only ordinary carrion, but even detritus, that is, long-decomposed remains and various secretions of living organisms. But he still prefers to eat coconuts. Finds fallen ones and, if they are at least partially split, tries to break them with the help of claws, which sometimes takes a lot of time. It is not capable of breaking the shell of a whole coconut with its claws - previously it was believed that they could do this, but the information was not confirmed.

They often drag prey closer to the nest to break the shell or eat it next time. It is not at all difficult for them to lift a coconut; they can even drag weights of several tens of kilograms. When Europeans first saw them, they were so impressed by the claws that they claimed that palm thieves could even hunt goats and sheep. This is not true, but they are quite capable of catching birds and lizards. They also eat only newly born turtles and rats. Although for the most part they still prefer not to do this, but to eat what is already available: ripe fruits and carrion that have fallen to the ground.

Features of character and lifestyle

You can rarely see them during the day, since they go out at night in search of food. In the light of the sun they prefer to stay in shelter. This could be a hole dug by the animal itself, or a natural shelter. The inside of their homes is lined with coconut fiber and other plant materials, which allow them to maintain the high humidity they need for a comfortable life. The crayfish always covers the entrance to its home with its claw; this is also necessary so that it remains moist.

Despite such a love for moisture, they do not live in water, although they try to settle nearby. They can often approach its very edge and become slightly moist. Young crayfish settle in shells left by other mollusks, but then they grow out of them and are no longer used.

Palm thieves often climb trees. They do this quite deftly, with the help of the second and third pairs of limbs, but sometimes they can fall - however, this is no big deal for them, they can easily survive a fall from a height of up to 5 meters. If they move backwards on the ground, then they descend from the trees head first.

They spend most of the night either on the ground, eating the prey they find, less often hunting, or near the water, and in the late evening and early morning they can be found in the trees - for some reason they really like to climb there. They live quite a long time: they can grow up to 40 years, and then they do not die immediately - individuals are known that have lived up to 60 years.

Social structure and reproduction

Palm thieves live alone and are found only during the breeding season: it begins in June and lasts until the end of August. After a long courtship, the crayfish mate. A few months later, the female waits for good weather and goes to the sea. In shallow water, she enters the water and releases her eggs. Sometimes the water picks them up and carries them away, in other cases the female waits in the water for hours until the larvae hatch from the eggs. She doesn’t go far, because if a wave carries her away, she will simply die in the sea.

Laying is done during high tide so that the eggs do not wash back to the shore, where the larvae die. If everything went well, many larvae are born, which are still in no way similar to the adult palm thief. Over the next 3-4 weeks they float on the surface of the water, noticeably growing and changing. After this, the small crustaceans sink to the bottom and crawl along it for some time, trying to find a home. The faster this can be done, the greater the chances of survival, because they are still completely defenseless, especially their abdomen.

The house can be an empty shell or a small nut shell. At this time, they are very similar to hermit crabs in appearance and behavior, and constantly remain in the water. But the lungs gradually develop, so that over time, young crayfish come to land - some earlier, some later. Initially they also find a shell there, but at the same time their abdomen becomes harder and harder, so that over time the need for it disappears, and they discard it.

As they grow, they molt regularly - they form a new exoskeleton, and they eat the old one. So over time they turn into adult crayfish, changing dramatically. Growth is slow: they reach sexual maturity only by the age of 5, and even by this age they are still small - about 10 cm.

Natural enemies of palm thieves

There are no specialized predators for which palm thieves are their main prey. They are too large, well protected and can even be dangerous to be hunted constantly. But this does not mean that nothing threatens them: large birds and, more often, birds can catch and eat them.

But only big bird, not every tropical island has these. Basically, they threaten young individuals that have not even grown to half their maximum size - no more than 15 cm. They can be caught by such predator birds, like a kestrel, and so on.

There are much more threats to the larvae: they can become food for almost any aquatic animal that feeds on plankton. These are mainly fish and marine mammals. They eat most of the larvae, and only a few of them survive to reach land.

We must not forget about humans: despite the fact that palm thieves try to settle on as quiet and uninhabited islands as possible, they often find themselves victims of people. All because of them delicious meat, yes and big size does not play in their favor: they are easier to notice, and it is easier to catch one such crayfish than a dozen small ones.

Interesting fact: This cancer is known as the palm thief because it loves to sit on palm trees and steal everything that glitters. If he sees tableware, jewelry, or any metal in general, Cancer will definitely try to take it into his home.

Population and species status

How many representatives of this species are found in nature has not been established due to the fact that they inhabit poorly populated areas. That's why they are not included in the list rare species However, in those areas where records are kept, there has been an alarming decline in their numbers over the past half century.

The main reason for this is the active catching of these crayfish. Not only is their meat delicious, and therefore expensive, but palm thieves taste like lobsters; In addition, it is also considered an aphrodisiac, which makes the demand even higher. Therefore, in many countries, restrictions are set on their production or even bans on catching are introduced. So, if earlier dishes from this crayfish were very popular in New Guinea, recently it has been generally prohibited from being served in restaurants and eateries. As a result, one of the important markets for smugglers has been lost, although exports continue in large volumes, so there is still work to be done to prevent it.

In some countries and territories there are bans on catching small crayfish: for example, in the Northern Mariana Islands it is allowed to catch only those larger than 76 mm, and only with a license and from September to November. During this entire season, you can get no more than 15 crayfish with one license. In Guam and Micronesia, catching pregnant females is prohibited; in Tuvalu, there are areas where catching is allowed (with restrictions), and others are prohibited. Similar restrictions apply in many other places.

All these measures are designed to prevent palm thieves from disappearing. It is too early to judge their effectiveness, since in most countries they operate for no more than 10-20 years; but the basis for comparison and selection of the optimal strategy for the future, due to the variety of legislative measures in different territories, is very extensive. These large crayfish need protection, otherwise people can simply exterminate them. Of course, certain measures are being taken, but it is not yet clear whether they are sufficient to preserve the species. On some islands where palm thief used to be widespread, they are almost no longer seen - this trend cannot but frighten.