r/Awwducational • u/SixteenSeveredHands • May 21 '23
Article Lamarckdromia Crabs: these fluffy crabs make their own protective "hats" out of living sea sponges; after selecting a suitable sponge, the crab trims it down to the right size, drapes the tailored sponge across its carapace, and carries it around
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u/SixteenSeveredHands May 21 '23
Lamarckdromia beagle is a newly classified species that was discovered off the coast of Western Australia just last year. It belongs to the genus Lamarckdromia, which is part of the Dromiidae family. Members of this clade are known to use living sea sponges and ascidians to protect themselves from predators, earning them the nickname "sponge crabs."
According to this article from The Guardian:
Dr. Andrew Hosie, a curator of crustacea and worms at the Western Australian Museum, said sponge crabs had hind legs that were specially adapted for holding their protective hats.
“The sponge or ascidian just keeps growing and will mould to the shape of the crab’s back,” he said. “It will never attach … it forms a nice cap that fits quite snugly to the top of the crab."
Similar to how hermit crabs use shells for protection, the sponges help Dromiidae crabs to camouflage from predators such as octopuses and other crabs.
The sponges can be bigger than the crab itself, and also provide a chemical deterrent. “Some of the compounds that these sponges are producing are very noxious,” Hosie said. “There’s not a lot of active predators that would be interested in munching through a sponge just to get to a crab.”
Two species of Lamarckdromia crabs are featured in the images for this post -- the first and second photos both show L. beagle, while the third photo depicts L. excavata.
Sources & More Info
- The Guardian: "Fluffy" Crab that Wears a Sponge as a Hat Discovered in Western Australia
- Reef Builders: Lamarckdromia Beagle is a New Species of Sponge Crab from Australia
- Zootaxa: Sponge Crabs of Western Australia and the Northwest Shelf with Descriptions of New Genera and Species
- LiveScience: Extremely Fuzzy Sponge Crab
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation: New Sponge Crab Species Found off WA Coast Named After Charles Darwin's Research Boat
- Slate: Meet the Fluffy Crab that Wears a Hat
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u/IdyllicSafeguard May 21 '23
Lamarckdromia beagle
It's so cool that we've discovered such a unique new species so recently, just last year!
Really shows that there are still so many animals for us to find out there. Thanks for sharing!
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u/MacTelnet May 21 '23
Spongeboy me bob I want you to be my new fancy hat
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u/Ahmed_Taha_Nur May 21 '23
Is it me or is the third pic look like a traveling merchant? Holding their products in a wide brown bag held on their back. With a fluffy well-kept long beard.
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u/_Indeed_I_Am_ May 21 '23
Wake up honey, the inspiration for Miyazaki’s next hellspawn enemies just dropped.
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u/i_post_gibberish May 21 '23
It looks so soft (d’awwwwww), but I’m curious what it would actually feel like. I’m imagining either something rigid enough to feel like a single solid shell, or pokey like a hedgehog.
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u/Current-Weird-4227 May 21 '23
Tell me I’m wrong.. that last photo looks like he’s smiling and giggling like a Japanese anime character!! 😊
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u/walkinglost May 21 '23
Reminds me of Joltik).
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u/secret_tsukasa May 21 '23
No way crabs are that furry.
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u/HelpfulDuckie5 May 21 '23
Furry crabs are actually fairly common. We even have an invasive species of them show up every now and then here in the US. I can’t remember what it’s called for the life of me anymore, but fish and wildlife found some in an illegal shipment from somewhere in Asia a while back. They looked like they were made of fluffy velvet…
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u/magusonline May 21 '23
Oh fluffy/hairy crabs existed. There's a furry crab in Asia that tastes amazing
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u/F1Barbie83 May 24 '23
It always seems to be that Australia is one place that has all the crazy and strange creatures
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u/SakuraSystem May 21 '23
you're telling me all this time there have been fluffy crabs that wear hats on this earth and NOBODY told me??