What is the largest crab on Christmas Island?
What is the largest crab on Christmas Island? Also known as the coconut crab, the robber crab is the world's biggest land crustacean.
Are there still red crabs on Christmas Island?
The island has a tropical climate and experiences both a wet season (December through April) and a dry season (May through November). 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.
What are the predators of the Christmas Island crabs?
When the red crab is still in its larval stage, their main predators are fish and large filter-feeders like whale sharks. However, on the land, Christmas Island red crabs have no natural predators.
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.
Why is it called Christmas Island?
Christmas Island began appearing on the charts of English and Dutch navigators from the early 1600s. But it wasn't until 1643 that Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company named the island after sighting it on Christmas Day.