Are there crab like animals on Christmas Island?
Are there crab like animals on Christmas Island? Also known as the coconut crab, the robber crab is the world's biggest land crustacean. It can weigh more than 4 kg and measure up to a metre across. Christmas Island has the world's largest and best protected population of these gentle giants, which can live to be more than 50 years old.
How many crabs live on Christmas Island?
More than 120 million red crabs can be found on the rain forest floor of Christmas Island. Red crabs live alone in dirt burrows, or deep rock crevices. Crabs stay in the shade of their dwelling for most of the year.
What animal is special on Christmas Island?
Red crabs - Gecarcoidea natalis Some 50 million red crabs live on Christmas Island – the only place in the world where they are found. These stunning creatures are extremely important to the island's rich biodiversity.
What is the largest crab on Christmas Island?
Also known as the coconut crab, the robber crab is the world's biggest land crustacean.
How did yellow crazy ants get to Christmas Island?
Yellow crazy ants have spread far across the indo-pacific region often using human shipping and air traffic to migrate into new areas. Image: Wetterer (2005). It is thought that they were accidently introduced to Christmas Island through shipping.
What is the predator of a red crab?
Red king crabs are eaten by a wide variety of organisms including but not limited to fishes (Pacific cod, sculpins, halibut, yellowfin sole), octopuses, king crabs (they can be cannibalistic), sea otters, and several new species of nemertean worms, which have been found to eat king crab embryos.
Why are there so many crabs on Christmas Island?
Early inhabitants of Christmas Island rarely mentioned these crabs. It is possible that their current large population size was caused by the extinction of the endemic Maclear's rat, Rattus macleari in 1903, which may have limited the crab's population.
What time of year are Christmas Island crabs?
When does the red crab migration occur? The migration starts with the first rainfall of the wet season. This is usually in October or November, but can sometimes be as late as December or January. Red crabs all over the island leave their homes at the same time and start marching towards the ocean to mate and spawn.