Pic of the Day – Orangutan Crab

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Judy G Diver
Awoosh.com Images

Orangutan Crab – Oncinopus sp 1

So by now you might be thinking – whassup with the roll call of crustaceans? Is this chick crabby or what?

There is something you might not know about me – I get on a thing (Words With Friends, the completely, totally, awesome Houzz app, cranking through the editing of a trip’s images, reading a certain author, creating a slideshow, planting a garden, yada, yada), and I can become a wee bit obsessed for a time. It might be a mild form of OCD, or just the machinations of a highly focussed mind ;^)

So, right now, I am a bit hooked on crabs.

There are so many varieties, especially in the Tropical Pacific. I like to take pictures of crustaceans, and I have quite a lot of stock to share. And I love crabs – somehow, these crusty little critters seem to project personality.

Today’s crab – the weird and wonderful Orangutan Crab – is just such an animal. Usually found on bubble corals, they look just so, I don’t know, grumpy and belligerent, that they charm me.

This guy is more Chewbacca than crab. Hairy, leggy, red eyes on stems – it could be a creature from another world.

The Orangutan Crab has a carapace (its ‘shell’) that is about 3/4 of an inch across. With its spindly legs, it takes up a couple of inches of real estate on the reef. Every time I see a bubble coral (which is a cool looking thing – soft, gel-like cells of coral, all in a cluster) I have a look for one of these guys. And sometimes, if you are really lucky, you might even find a pair…

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The Orangutan crabs in this post were captured (with the camera) at the famous Cannibal Rock, in the area of Komodo, Indonesia. I’ve also seen them in Fiji and Thailand.

About Judy G Diver

Born and raised on the west coast of Canada, I have always felt a strong connection to the sea. But for many years, I stayed on the surface, afraid of what lurked down deep. When I was in my early 30's, with three young children (aka the P's), my husband (aka Mr G) signed us up for a SCUBA certification course, as a surprise. Although I had my fears, my stubbornness prevailed, and somehow I made it through four murky, frigid, cold water dives in Vancouver to successfully pass the course. Soon after we went diving off the west coast of Mexico, in the Sea of Cortez, where my eyes were opened to the beauty and other-worldliness of the life down under. And the rest, as they say, is history. I currently have well over 2000 dives under the belt, and I have been fortunate to travel and dive in Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Fiji, Palau, Philippines, Galapagos, Costa Rica, Hawaii, California, Egypt, Mexico, several islands in the Caribbean, and here in British Columbia. In addition to this blog and my personal website (Awoosh.com/Directory), which is linked at the top of the blog, my stuff has been published in a variety of magazines and websites, including a regular monthly feature for Scubadiving Magazine for several years. All links to this work can be found in this blog.
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