Grabzilla

Japanese Spider Crab was a huge attraction in Sydney Sealife aquarium. The Japanese spider crab has the greatest leg span of any arthropod,... more

by Miroslava Jurcik

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Grabzilla

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Miroslava Jurcik

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Japanese Spider Crab was a huge attraction in Sydney Sealife aquarium. The Japanese spider crab has the greatest leg span of any arthropod, reaching up to 5.5 metres (18 ft) from claw to claw. The body may grow to a size of 40 cm (16 in) in carapace width and the whole crab can weigh up to 19 kilograms .
He was only a juvenile with a leg span of 1.5m and his name is Sake. Sake's got plenty of time to get bigger, because male spider crabs can live for 100 years. He grew 15cm in 3 months.
He now been transferred to Sunshine coast aquarium, so you no longer can see him in Sydney.
There is insufficient data concerning the conservation status for the Japanese spider crab. The catch of this species has declined considerably in the last 40 years. Some researchers have put forth a method for recovery which involves restocking with juvenile crabs artificially cultured in fisheries. In Japan, laws prohibit fishermen from catching M. kaempferi during mating season in the early spring, from January until April, in order to keep natural populations up and to give the species a chance to spawn.

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August 25th, 2017

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