Scientists on Wednesday stated that they measured the pinch strength of the large coconut crab that inhabits islands in the Indian and southern Pacific oceans. After calculating, the claw measures an exert up to an amazing 742 pounds (336.5 kg) of force. The coconut crab’s pinch strength even matches or beats the bite strength of most land predators. So it turns out lobsters are lightweights and the mighty coconut crab is the crustacean with the most powerful claws.
Be Familiar With Coconut Crab
The coconut crab is considered as the largest among terrestrial crustaceans, they can lift up to 28 kg (61 lb) and use their beastly claws to fend off attackers, while claiming a monopoly on food sources like coconuts and other goodies with tough exteriors. It is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest land-living arthropod in the world and is probably at the upper size limit for terrestrial animals with exoskeletons in recent times.
A coconut crab's maximum weight is up to 4.1 kg (9.0 lb). It can grow to up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in length from leg to leg. It is found on islands in the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific Ocean as far east as the Gambier Islands mirroring the distribution of the coconut palm; it has been extirpated from most areas with a significant human population, including mainland Australia and Madagascar. It is the only species of the genus Birgus, and is related to the genus Coenobita.
Coconut Crabs Have A Killer Clamp
According to The Christian Science Monitor, coconut crabs try to eat whatever they can get their burly claws on. While that mostly means vegetation like the hard-shelled coconut for which they are named, they are also known to prey on other small animals like kittens. The coconut crab's claw can pinch with a force greater than that of any other crustacean that has been measured. So, scientists decided to measure exactly how much force they can really exert when they pinch their prey.
“The pinching force of the largest coconut crab is almost equal to the bite force of adult lions,” said marine biologist Shin-ichiro Oka of Japan’s Okinawa Churashima Foundation, who led the research published in the journal PLOS ONE. “The mighty claw is a terrestrial adaptation that is not only a weapon, which can be used to prevent predator attack and inhibit competitors, but is also a tool to hunt other terrestrial organisms with rigid exteriors, aiding in these organisms to be omnivores.”
