Coconut crabs

The coconut crab is eaten by the Pacific islanders and is considered a delicacy and an aphrodisiac, with a taste similar to lobster and crab meat. The most prized parts are the eggs inside the female coconut crab and the fat in the abdomen. Coconut crabs can be cooked like other large crustaceans, by boiling or steaming. Different islands also have a variety of recipes, as for example, coconut crab cooked in coconut milk. While the coconut crab itself is not innately poisonous, it may become so depending on its diet, and cases of coconut crab poisoning have occurred. It is believed that the poison comes from plant toxins, which would explain why some animals are poisonous and others not. Reputedly[citation needed], this poison is considered an aphrodisiac, similar to the highly poisonous pufferfish eaten in Japan. However, coconut crabs are not a commercially significant species and are usually not sold.

Coconut crabs mate frequently and quickly on dry land in the period from May to September, especially in July and August. The male and the female fight with each other, and the male turns the female on her back to mate. The whole mating procedure takes about 15 minutes. Shortly thereafter, the female lays her eggs and glues them to the underside of her abdomen, carrying the fertilized eggs underneath her body for a few months. At the time of hatching, usually October or November, the female coconut crab releases the eggs into the ocean at high tide. The larvae are of the zoea type, as usual for decapod crustaceans. It is reported that all coconut crabs do this on the same night, with many females on the beach at the same time.

The larvae float in the ocean for 28 days, during which a large number of them are eaten by predators. Afterwards, they live on the ocean floor and on the shore as hermit crabs, using discarded shells for protection for another 28 days. At that time, they sometimes visit dry land. As with all hermit crabs, they change their shells as they grow. After these 28 days, they leave the ocean permanently and lose the ability to breathe in water. Young coconut crabs that cannot find a seashell of the right size also often use broken coconut pieces. When they outgrow even coconut shells, they develop a hardened abdomen. About 4 to 8 years after hatching the coconut crab matures and can reproduce. This is an unusually long development period for a crustacean.