Friday, December 09, 2005
i was looking up about this crab called coconut crab..
haha..
cool name huh..
its called sosonut crab cos it eats coconut..
i told doris..
she didnt believe me lar..
she taut i was kiddin..coconut crabs...
some things about them..The diet of coconut crabs consists primarily of fruit. However, they will eat nearly anything organic, including leaves, rotten fruit, turtle eggs, dead animals, and the shells of other animals, which are believed to provide calcium. They may also eat live animals that are too slow to escape, such as freshly hatched sea turtles.
Coconut crabs live alone in underground burrows and rock crevices, depending on the local terrain. They dig their own burrows in sand or loose soil. During the day, the animal stays hidden, to protect itself from predators and reduce water loss from heat. While resting in its burrow, the coconut crab closes the entrance with one of its claws to create the moist microclimate within the burrow necessary for its breathing organs. In areas with a large coconut crab population, some may also come out during the day, perhaps to gain an advantage in the search for food. Coconut crabs will also sometimes come out during the day if it is moist or raining, since these conditions allow them to breathe more easily. They live almost exclusively on land, and some have been found up to 6 km from the ocean.
It has adapted so well to living on land that it actually drowns in water. That said, it does still breathe through modified gills. The gills are surrounded by spongy tissues which need to be kept moist. The coconut crab does this by dipping its legs into water and passing them over the gills. The crab does require some contact with the sea as it often drinks the water to maintain its salt balance, and females need to return to sea to release eggs.
stories of my life. 8:03 PM;
