The Cellar - Jan 23, 2012: Crab Balls

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- - Jan 23, 2012: Crab Balls (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=26731)

xoxoxoBruce

01-23-2012 12:12 AM

Jan 23, 2012: Crab Balls

Put away the seafood sauce, you don't want to eat these crab balls.

http://cellar.org/2012/craballs1.jpg

Quote:

Small hermit and soldier crabs in Malaysia and Australia build their home digging a deep hole in the sand on a beach. They got a good idea of how to move sand up during his construction. Down in the hole this crab is making sand balls and later push them up to the surface, 2-3 balls at a time. Pushing sand ball more far from the hole they form a kind of sand ball flower or sand ball galaxy.

http://cellar.org/2012/craballs2.jpg

Then the tide comes in and they start all over again. :facepalm:
Makes me wonder if some will evolve enough to dig above the high water mark, but maybe the sand's not wet enough to dig.

The Ark in Space via Kuriositas

ZenGum

01-23-2012 12:33 AM

I've seen little fellers like that in mud flats in far north Queensland.

It isn't clear in this pic, but the ones I saw arranged their balls (ahem) so as to leave unobstucted paths back to their holes, so they could bolt to safety quickly.

Aliantha

01-23-2012 12:45 AM

There are heaps of soldier crabs around here. They are very interesting watch.

SPUCK

01-23-2012 05:31 AM

Screwy eyes!

Griff

01-23-2012 05:46 AM

Cool!

sandypossum

01-23-2012 06:11 AM

We have them all over the beaches in Waratah Bay too (near Wilsons Prom in Victoria). They're mostly tiny, but their crab balls make fabulous patterns all over the beach.

footfootfoot

01-23-2012 08:03 AM

How do you get their legs apart?

glatt

01-23-2012 08:19 AM

These pictures made me think of the similarities with mine tailings, so I did a Google image search to find a picture that would show off those similarities. Don't do Google image searches for mine tailings. It's too depressing.

Trilby

01-23-2012 10:00 AM

Do soldier crabs have guns? Or weapons?

Clodfobble

01-23-2012 11:29 AM

The claws don't impress you?

Sundae

01-23-2012 11:39 AM

I liking this Engrish.

monster

01-23-2012 12:07 PM

1 Attachment(s)

crabs? balls?

Sundae

01-23-2012 12:12 PM

Monster has found pubic lice.
Don't get to say that every day.

Aliantha

01-23-2012 05:39 PM

That looks like eyelashes to me...

Gravdigr

01-23-2012 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt (Post 790108)

Oooh, purty colors.

dave74

01-23-2012 11:21 PM

Crab Ejecta but Sand Dollars better!

Got to see crab ball ejects in Mexico and Malaysia. Same random thrown pattern, sometimes with access paths. But on Cherating Beach (Malaysia's East coast) there were hairy sand dollars that cruised just below the wet sand, forming abstract patters and looking weird.

xoxoxoBruce

01-23-2012 11:26 PM

They cruise under the sand? Cool, I'd like to see pictures of that if you have some, dave74. Oh, and welcome. :D

HungLikeJesus

01-24-2012 08:56 AM

I hope you stick around longer than Dave1 through Dave73.

Ibby	01-24-2012 06:36 PM

I've seen them before. Are they only in Malaysia and Australia? I musta seen 'em in Port Douglas i guess.

xoxoxoBruce

01-25-2012 01:32 AM

He didn't say only, just those are the two places he saw them.

ZenGum

01-25-2012 04:54 AM

You might well have seen them in Port Douglas.

CaliforniaMama

01-26-2012 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPUCK (Post 790092)

Screwy eyes!

Now we know where Tic Tacs come from!:D

SPUCK

01-27-2012 04:29 AM

Eeeeeew. :eek:

BigV	01-27-2012 01:38 PM

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPUCK (Post 790092)

Screwy eyes!

Just like Mr Krabs!

Attachment 37031

SPUCK

01-28-2012 05:07 AM

Oh yeah!! Totally.

Mmmm burgers...

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