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Coconut Crab — printable fact sheet
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Animal Fact Sheet
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Coconut Crab
Birgus latro
The coconut crab is the largest land arthropod alive, with a leg span approaching a metre, and it has committed to land so completely that it will drown if held underwater. It has abandoned gills for branchiostegal lungs and must breathe air, though it still needs to keep them d…
Did you know?
- Despite being crustaceans, adult Coconut Crabs cannot swim and will drown if submerged in water for extended periods.
- The largest land arthropod on Earth — and it drowns if held underwater, because it breathes air. Its claw is one of the strongest pinchers ever measured in any animal. It climbs trees, and will haul coconuts up and drop them to crack them open. Having left the sea, it evolved insect-like organs of smell to find food on land.
What I learned
Draw the coconut crab
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