Fish of the Day 15 - I got that spider crab in me

Today's sea creature is the japanese spider crab! These guys are kind of unnerving! ^_^'''

Japanese spider crab facts:

- The japanese spider crab is the biggest modern day arthropod, reaching up to 13ft from claw to claw. I dont like thinking about that

- Apparently, these crabs are gentle giants! Despite their menacing appearance, they are usually slow-moving, passive and gentle. Thats sort of relieving for me,,,

- This creature belongs to a group of crab species named "decorator crabs" for their tendencies to decorate their bodies with plants, shells, and even other creatures such as sea stars or anemones. In other words, they enjoy play dress up!

- A female japanese spider crab can lay around 1,500,000 eggs per season!

- When japanese spider crab's hatch from their eggs, they are considered larvae. In this stage, they are microscopic! I can barely imagine going from microscopic to nearly 4 meters wide.

- They are among the longest living crabs. These things can live up to 100 years. Imagine getting outlived by a spider crab 😭

Im so happy these crabs live in deeper waters in japan, because it means i probably wont ever encounter one while swimming. I have arachnophobia, so i'd probably cry if I saw these anywhere other than in an aquarium!! ⚆_⚆ Also, whenever I see spider crabs i think of this image.

Do you got that spider crab in you?