Jan 23, 2012: Crab Balls
 

Put away the seafood sauce, you don't want to eat these crab balls.

http://cellar.org/2012/craballs1.jpg

http://cellar.org/2012/craballs2.jpg

Then the tide comes in and they start all over again. :facepalm:
Makes me wonder if some will evolve enough to dig above the high water mark, but maybe the sand's not wet enough to dig.

The Ark in Space via Kuriositas

I've seen little fellers like that in mud flats in far north Queensland.

It isn't clear in this pic, but the ones I saw arranged their balls (ahem) so as to leave unobstucted paths back to their holes, so they could bolt to safety quickly.

There are heaps of soldier crabs around here. They are very interesting watch.

Screwy eyes!

Cool!

We have them all over the beaches in Waratah Bay too (near Wilsons Prom in Victoria). They're mostly tiny, but their crab balls make fabulous patterns all over the beach.

How do you get their legs apart?

These pictures made me think of the similarities with mine tailings, so I did a Google image search to find a picture that would show off those similarities. Don't do Google image searches for mine tailings. It's too depressing.

Do soldier crabs have guns? Or weapons?

The claws don't impress you?

I liking this Engrish.

crabs? balls?

Monster has found pubic lice.
Don't get to say that every day.

That looks like eyelashes to me...

Oooh, purty colors.