The largest arthropod on Earth, with a thirteen-foot leg span
The largest arthropod alive can span nearly thirteen feet from leg to leg — wider than a car.
Which one is REALLY true about the Japanese Spider Crab?
The short version
The Japanese spider crab lives in cold deep waters off Japan, spans nearly thirteen feet from leg tip to leg tip yet has a body the size of a basketball, is a gentle scavenger, can regrow lost legs, and may live up to a hundred years.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Japanese Spider Crab is the largest arthropod on the planet.
- ✓The Japanese Spider Crab can span nearly thirteen feet from the tip of one leg to the other, wider than a car.
- ✓The Japanese Spider Crab has a body only about the size of a basketball, even with that enormous leg span.
- ✓The Japanese Spider Crab walks slowly across the seabed on eight impossibly long, spindly legs, scavenging dead animals, shellfish and scraps.
- ✓The Japanese Spider Crab can lost legs, and some individuals are thought to live for as long as a hundred years.
You could line up about 3 of them along a 7-year-old!
The full story
This is the largest arthropod on the planet, and it looks like something out of a nightmare. Meet the Japanese spider crab, which lives in the cold, deep waters off the coast of Japan. From the tip of one leg to the other, a big male can span nearly thirteen feet, wider than a car, yet its body is only about the size of a basketball. It walks slowly across the seabed on eight impossibly long, spindly legs, scavenging for dead animals, shellfish, and scraps. Despite its terrifying size, it is gentle and almost completely harmless. It can regrow lost legs, wears sponges and anemones on its shell as camouflage, and some individuals are thought to live for as long as a hundred years. Follow for more weird animal facts.
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“The Japanese Spider Crab is the largest arthropod on the planet.”
“The Japanese Spider Crab bounds across the sand on two long back legs, like a mouse-sized kangaroo.”
“The Japanese Spider Crab can span nearly thirteen feet from the tip of one leg to the other, wider than a car.”