Facts about crabs....

Crabs are invertebrates, semi-terrestrial creatures that thrive on land as well as in water. They are also popular as decapods crustaceans and belong to the crustacean family with more than 4500 species worldwide. Crabs have quite a short tail, a thick shell, and a single pair of claws. You will find crabs in fresh or salt water
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• Decapod means "ten-footed". Crabs have 10 legs, however, the first pair are its claws which are called chelae.

• Crabs have a thick external skeleton called an exoskeleton. It is a shell made ofcalcium carbonate and provides protection for the soft tissue underneath.

• Crabs live in all the world's oceans, in fresh water, and on land. There are over 4500 species of crabs.

• Other animals with similar names such as hermit crabs, king crabs, porcelain crabs, horseshoe crabs and crab lice, are not true crabs

• Crabs usually have a distinct sideways walk. However, some crabs can walk forwards or backwards, and some are capable of swimming.

• The collective name for the group of crabs is a cast.

• Crabs communicate with each other by drumming or waving their pincers.

• Male crabs tend to often fight with each other over females or hiding holes.

• The Pea Crab is the smallest known species at just a few millimetres wide. The largest species is the Japanese Spider Crab, with a leg span of up to 4 m (13 ft).

• Crabs are omnivores (meaning they eat both meat and plants), they feed mainly on algae, but also bacteria, other crustaceans, molluscs, worms, and fungi.

• Some crab species can naturally autotomise (shed) limbs such as their claws, which then regenerate after about a year.

• Of all marine crustaceans caught be humans each year, crabs make up 20%. This adds up to a total of 1.5 million tonnes annually.