GabyA tiny pink royal crab accidentally caught by researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the Gulf of Mexico has become a viral hit. The marine creature’s wide, bead-like eyes helped turn it into an internet sensation. Biologists say they pulled the spiky little animal out of a plastic bag while collecting coral samples. The scientists identified it as a juvenile royal crab (Neolithodes agassizii). These spiky oddballs typically live between 200 and 1,900 meters deep and can reach about 12 centimeters from head to tail, excluding their limbs. So this little one is still very young, ScienceAlert reported.
Adult Neolithodes agassizii are large predators found in the cooler regions of the ocean. They live on expansive muddy plains where there are virtually no places to hide. As a result, vulnerable baby royal crabs often seek refuge among other animals. For example, they can shelter behind fluffy sea cucumbers, which provide perfect cover. In 2016, a team from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute examined about 2,600 sea cucumbers and found that nearly a quarter of them were hosting juvenile royal crabs. Maybe this pink newcomer mistook the plastic bag it was floating in for a translucent sea cucumber.
Despite its name, Neolithodes agassizii isn’t a true crab (Brachyura). Their last common ancestor with true crabs dates back about 250 million years, long before true mammals appeared.
Royal crabs are one of many unrelated groups that evolved crab-like shapes through convergent evolution, where similar traits develop in species that aren’t closely related. Royal crabs descended from hermit crabs that gave up living in a shell about 25 million years ago. Unlike true crabs, which have eight walking legs, royal crabs have only six. They also have one large claw for attacking and a smaller one for feeding. All of these features are on display in the tiny crab perched on a “giant” human hand wearing a rubber glove.
