Bet you thought I was going to tell you about a human. Nah. They're interesting, but there are also a lot of depressing ones that I'd rather not think about right now, so instead you get this. A very colorful crab. That's better, I think.
This crab is only a few inches across, and rather common, so you can see them in the Galapagos and on the western coasts of Central and South America if you want.
This crab was supposedly named for a dancer, because it's so lightfooted and moves with grace...which, depending on your opinion, could be more than most crabs do. Personally, I like their scientific name a bit more. Grapsus Grapsus. That's pretty perfect for a crab that comes with warnings of their pinching plans.
They're also pretty fast, and have legs that are really strong specifically so they can withstand the waves they have to deal with in the water. They also keep some of that water in their shells so they can breathe on land and be out of the water for longer. They'll eat anything, so they clean up a lot of things that other animals do in other parts of the world. An interesting thing that they eat is the bugs off Marine Iguanas, which is a kinda-symbiotic relationship. The final interesting thing to say about them is that, despite having a lot of predators around, they don't camouflage themselves. They actually get more colorful as they get older, which is weird evolutionarily.
These guys are mostly interesting because of their colors, but they're still really cool. I hope you enjoyed learning about them, and I'll find something else fun to tell you about soon.
Summary:
Galapagos Conservation-- Sally Lightfoot
Animal Diversity Web-- Grapsus Grapsus
Metropolitan Touring-- Sally Lightfoot
Quasarex-- Sally Lightfoot Crab
Everywhere Wild-- Sally Lightfoot
Peaks and Penguins-- Sally Lightfoot
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