Five Interesting Crab-Lover Facts
From oysters to lobsters and everything in between, you can’t go wrong with a good seafood dish. Many of our favorite dishes like our house special stuff lobster tail, feature crab. So, we wanted to learn a little bit more about this popular shell fish that’s in many of our favorite dishes.
Five Fun Facts For Crab Lovers
1. Did you know that both crabs and lobsters are decapods, meaning they both have 10 limbs? Other decapods include crawfish, prawns and shrimp. Although crabs are decapods, some crabs are not considered true crabs like King Crabs, Horseshoe Crabs, Hermit Crabs and Porcelain crabs, as they do not have 10 limbs.
2. Crabs typically walk sideways, as the crab’s legs are attached to the side of its body. The bending of the knee towards the front makes walking forward easier, however, on crabs, their joints bend outwards, which enables them to only move sideways. However, there are some species of crabs that can walk forward and backward and some are even capable of swimming.
3. There are over 4,500 species of crabs, and they live in all the world’s oceans, in fresh water, and even on land if they’re able to keep their gills moist. Most crab species are found in the shallower ocean waters where the crabs tend to inhabit rocky pools and coral reefs.
4. Crabs vary in size, color and appearance. The smallest species, Pea Crab, are under an inch in length, while the largest species, Japanese Spider Crab has a leg span of 10 – 15 feet long, and one crab that measures nearly 18 feet, which is huge considering the body only grows to be just over a foot wide. The most colorful crab in the world is the Sally Lightfoot Crab. The shell features red, orange, yellow and white.
5. If a crab loses its claw, it’s no big deal, as it can grow back! The new claw starts out smaller than the original and will continue to grow through molts. After three molts, a claw can regain 95 percent of its original size. However, a claw is not the only appendage a crab can lose. Many lose legs as well, but just like with claws they can regenerate through molts.
