Photo: natomik · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Description
- 📏 up to 1 m leg span, 3-4 kg
- 🌊 atolls and low islands, coastal forests and coconut groves
The coconut crab (kaveu) is the largest land arthropod in the world. It lives on land in burrows and knows how to open a coconut with its powerful claws, hence its name. As an adult it can no longer swim: only its larvae live in the sea. It is traditionally eaten on several Pacific islands.
Did you know?
In Tahitian it is called kaveu. Kaveu are followed by scientists, notably at Tetiaroa, where the association Te mana o te moana studies the species.
Source: Te mana o te moana; Bishop Museum (Cook Islands)
Tahitian names: Te mana o te moana; Bishop Museum. French name: Crabe de cocotier.
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