Coconut crab, also known as Bagua crab, is a genus of coconut crabs in the family Crab family Decapodae. It is a hermit crab, large in size, can grow up to 1 meter long, weighs up to 3-4 kg, not only the largest terrestrial crab, but also the largest terrestrial arthropod. With a hard shell and two strong and powerful giant claws, they are masters of tree climbing, especially straight coconut trees. You can peel off the hard coconut shell with a strong double claw and eat the coconut flesh inside. It is found in tropical forests near the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
The carapace of the body and appendages is calcified and very thick, and there are wavy wrinkles on the surface of the cephalothorax and foot. The cephalothorax has a well-developed cephalothorax. The gill area of the cephalothorax is particularly enlarged, and there are many folds generated by the epithelium on the inner wall of the gill cavity, in which there are clumped blood vessels for land respiration. The forehead horns are triangular in shape and the eye scales are small. The dorsal and lateral carapaces of the abdomen are calcified and partially bent under the cephalothorax. The first antennae handle is slender in each section, and the end of the tentacle whip is thick, slightly rod-shaped, and has a tactile effect. Body color varies from purple-blue to orange-red.
The claws are asymmetrical, the left claw is larger than the right claw, very thick and powerful, can be used to open the hard coconut shell, eat coconut meat. The first 3 pairs of the thorax are specialized as jaw feet, and the last 5 pairs are walking feet. The 1st and 2nd pairs of footlets are powerful and claw-shaped at the ends, which can be used to climb trees. The third pair of step feet has a chelate at the end, and the fourth pair of step feet is small and lurks in the gill cavity under the cephalothorax. The abdominal limbs are similar to those of the hermit crab, with only one side retaining the vestigial limbs and the other side completely disappearing. There is significant metamorphosis during development, and the newly hatched larvae are arthomes.
Because coconut crabs have many clumps of blood vessels in the gill cavity that can help with breathing, they can live on land for a long time, only to return to the ocean to lay eggs during the breeding season. The larvae mature in the ocean and then climb ashore to live. They can live up to 60 years. It grows very slowly, growing a little bit with each molt, usually in autumn and winter. Juvenile crabs molt about 2-3 times a year, and as individuals grow, the number of molts gradually decreases, and the frequency of molting of adult crabs is only once a year.
They have a very heterogeneous diet, eating almost any organic matter, whether it is the fruit leaves of plants, decaying animal carcasses, or even smaller than their own kind, so they have the nickname "robber crab". Cave dwelling, where burrows are found or dug in places such as sand or tree roots, a coconut crab lives alone in a cave, and when the individual grows up, it will dig a larger cave. Coconut crab has a high economic value, can be eaten, its meat is delicious, nutritious, and unique coconut flavor, in the way of eating whether steamed, stewed or soup and other taste is very delicious and delicious.