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Chapter
The Robber Crab Birgus latro
(Linnaeus, 1767)
Selvaraj Kumaralingam
Abstract
The robber or coconut crab Birgus latro (Linnaeus, 1767) is a terrestrial
hermit crab. It is the largest—land living arthropod in the world. As far as India
is concerned, distribution of this crab is restricted to Great Nicobar Island and
South Sentinel Island in Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago. The crab divided
into a front section (cephalothorax), which has eight legs, and an abdomen. The
front-most pair of legs has large chelae (claws), with the left being larger than the
right. The next two pairs, as with other hermit crabs, are large, powerful walking
legs with pointed tips, which allow coconut crabs to climb vertical or overhanging
surfaces.
Keywords: Birgus latro, Nicobar, India, robber crab
1. Introduction
The robber or coconut crab (Birgus latro; Linnaeus, 1767) is a terrestrial
hermit crab. It is the largest—land living arthropod in the world. As far as India
is concerned, distribution of this crab is restricted to Great Nicobar Island and
South Sentinel Island in Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago. In the Nicobar
Islands the species has been reported from Car Nicobar [1], Little Nicobar,
Katchal, Camorta and Great Nicobar [2]. The crab separated into a visible
section (cephalothorax), which has eight legs, and an abdomen. The next two
pairs, as with other hermit crabs, are large, powerful walking legs with pointy
tips, which allow coconut crabs to climb vertical or overhanging surfaces. The
fourth pair of legs is slighter with tweezer-like chelae at the end, allowing
young coconut crabs to grip the inside of a shell or coconut husk to carry for
protection; adults use this pair for walking and climbing. The last pair of legs is
very small and is used by females to tend their eggs, and by the males in mat-
ing. In the present study, the general ecology of coconut crabs in around great
Nicobar is focused.
2. Methods
Coconut crabs are generally “easy to collect” and most often hand picking is
very effective in intertidal zones, Crabs can be preserved wet in 6–10% formalin for
further study. Field photographs by using the following taxonomic identification
keys [3].
1
Crustacea
3. Results
3.1 Habitat
Coconut crabs are viewed as a standout amongst the most earthly decapods; the
crab is an all-around adjusted loner crab, it is diurnal and night-time in propensi-
ties. Coconut crabs live alone in underground tunnels and shake hole, contingent
upon the nearby territory. They delve their very own tunnels in sand or free soil.
During the day, the creature remains concealed to diminish water misfortune from
warmth. While resting in its tunnel, the coconut crab shuts the passages with one
of its hooks to make the clammy microclimate inside the tunnel fundamental for its
breathing organs They live solely ashore, coming back to the ocean just to discharge
their eggs.
3.2 Size
This large sized crab grows up to 40 cm long and 22 cm wide (single sighting
observed).
3.3 Feeding habit
Adult coconut crabs feed on fruits, nuts, seeds, and the pith of fallen trees,
smaller worms, crustaceans and molluscs. The species is popularly associated with
the coconut, and has been widely reported to climb trees to pick coconuts, which it
then opens to eat the flesh.
3.4 Behavior
These Hermit crabs have a series of complex physical movements to communi-
cate with other crabs in different situations. They are active at night which makes
it difficult to see slight differences in body motion. They raise a single leg out and
above the rest of their body as a warning to keep away.
2
The Robber Crab Birgus latro (Linnaeus, 1767)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88429
3.5 Lifecycle
Coconut crabs are terrestrial animals whose eggs are hatched at sea. The female
once her eggs have been fertilized by a male crab, will release her eggs into the sea
with a new moon and a spring tide, when the humidity and temperature are right.
The number of eggs she releases be a great as 138,000. The species’ only dependence
on the sea is for releasing eggs, which hatch in contact with seawater; the plank-
tonic larvae then migrate onto land where they develop into long-lived adults [4].
And migrate to the shoreline with other terrestrial hermit crabs. The coconut crab
reaches sexual maturity around 5 years after hatching. They reach their maximum
size only after 40–60 years.
3.6 Distribution
South Sentinel Island and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, Central Pacific
Ocean, Ryukyu Islands, Coast of Tanzania, Tropics of Cancer and Northern and
Southern limits of Capricorn mark, Australia, Madagascar and Mauritius Island.
4. Discussion
The population of this crab is dwindling due to habitat loss as a cause of coastal
development and exploitation by human for food. Large populations exist on the
Cook Islands especially Pukapuka, Suwarrow, Mangaia, Takutea, Mauke, Atiu, and
Palmerston Island. The coconut crab Birgus latro, characterized as Data Deficient
on the IUCN Red List [5], is the largest land crab. In worldwide conservation and
management strategies have been put in place such as ban on the capture of egg-
bearing females and avoid the hunting of non-egg-bearing adults having above
carapace length 30 mm. In India the species protected under Schedule I category of
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The Conservation needs of the coconut crab Birgus
latro on the Nicobar Islands, India [6]. We recommend that more extensive surveys
be carried out in all potential coconut crab habitats on the Andaman and Nicobar
archipelago.
Author details
Selvaraj Kumaralingam
Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre,
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India
© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.
3
Crustacea
References
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