Crazy about Crustaceans!
Crustaceans are cool, don't you think? Cool in that gross, clawed alien facehugger spidery creepiness sense. When we were on our honeymoon in the Maritimes, Michelle and I had the obligatory lobster dinner. Normally I'm a big fan of seafood- my policy is, if it comes from the sea, it goes into me! But staring at a lobster that had just been boiled alive mere moments ago for your culinary pleasure is a little unnerving. Gabrielle always points out that lobsters mate for life. And, really, they weren't all that tasty when all was said and done. A lot of work for not a lot of reward. I think bears prefer salmon. Anyways, here are some crucial crustacean facts for you.
Leafing through an old National Geographic, I discovered that coconut crabs are the world's largest land crustacean. They're big. Well, about 4 kgs, so pretty big. Especially if you were out climbing a tree and came across this guy staring you in the face! Yeesh!
But ole cocy is not so big compared to the mighty Japanese Spider Crab, the biggest of all living crustaceans. Well, that we know of. These crabs grow to almost 4 meters claw to claw, and can be around 20 kilos. I'm not sure if Godzilla ever fought one, but he would probably lose if he did.
Still, I would rather come across a spider crab than one of these extinct sea scorpions!
And are they truly extinct? I doubt it. Who knows what dire clawed terrors dwell in the unexplored depths of the oceanic trenches? Bioluminescent paleolobsters of feral cunning who eat megalodons and giant squids? Probably. They are likely even telepathic.
The best story I ever read about lobsters is Homefaring, by Robert Silverberg. You should check it out. I think it won a Nebula Award. Or maybe it was the Crab Nebula Award!