A climax has been reached for Christmas Island’s crabs as the final day of spawning kicked off this morning just before dawn.
Female crabs were seen in their millions, carpeting the cliffs and beaches of he island as they each tentatively tiptoed into the water and shook off their large sacks of eggs into the outgoing tide.
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They massacre us and then they call us creepy
Named for the day it was discovered in 1643 and located a few hundred miles south of Indonesia, Christmas Island is home to around 45 million red crabs. Every year, these charismatic crustaceans—each about the size of your fist—crawl all over the 52-square-mile island and head to sea en masse to spawn. (This year’s migration began in early December.) People fly in from around the world to witness what resembles armies of cherry Christmas bulbs on the march.
It would seem no force could harry such a legion, armed as it is with claws and chitin. And yet, the crabs have a formidable enemy.
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On Christmas Island, an estimated 43.7 million Christmas Island red crabs dwell. That’s a truly staggering number of crabs living on such a small island; But, if hordes of adult Christmas Island red crabs seemed incredible enough, their tiny children are even more mind-numbing. After spending three to four weeks at sea, the baby red crabs crawl from the water and begin their nine day journey to the center of Christmas Island. This results in an even greater and creepier horde than that of their migrating parents.
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Some however cherish our presence
The island is rich in biological diversity and contains some unique organisms. 63% of the island belongs to a national park.
The scientific name of the red crab is Gecarcoidea natalis. It's native to Christmas Island and the Cocos or Keeling Islands, which are also located in the Indian Ocean and are also a territory of Australia.
The red crab is quite large compared to other crabs. Its carapace, or shell, may reach as much as 4.6 inches in width. Males are generally bigger than females. Although the crab is usually red in colour, some individuals are orange. Very rarely, a red crab may be purple in colour.
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