Articles for tag: Animal Adaptation, crabs, Florida Wildlife, Marine Life, Sea Level Rise

red and brown crab on black rock

How Florida’s Crabs Are Adapting to Rising Tides

Suhail Ahmed

  On Florida’s coasts, the water is creeping higher, the chemistry is shifting, and the old rules that crabs lived by are being rewritten in real time. Estuaries that once felt predictable now swing between fresher deluges and salty king tides, warming faster than many fishers remember. Yet amid the churn, a quiet story of ...

The Crab That Cracks Coconuts (Coconut Crab)

The Crab That Cracks Coconuts (Coconut Crab)

Annette Uy

Imagine a creature so powerful, it can snap open a coconut with its bare claws—a feat many humans struggle to accomplish with tools. Meet the coconut crab, a mysterious giant of the tropics whose strength and curious lifestyle have fascinated scientists and adventurers alike. This colossal crustacean stirs both awe and disbelief, crawling silently through ...

The Crabs That Carry Their Homes—And Sometimes Decorate Them

The Crabs That Carry Their Homes—And Sometimes Decorate Them

Annette Uy

Imagine wandering through a tide pool, your eyes tracing the mysterious shapes hidden in the sand and seaweed. Suddenly, a shell moves—not with the gentle push of a wave, but with purposeful intent. It’s not a shell at all, but a crab carrying its home on its back, sometimes flaunting a flamboyant collection of decorations. ...

Horseshoe Crabs Aren’t Crabs—They’re Living Fossils From Another Era

Horseshoe Crabs Aren’t Crabs—They’re Living Fossils From Another Era

Annette Uy

Something ancient still walks the world’s shorelines—creatures with armored shells and spiky tails that seem plucked from the pages of a prehistoric epic. Horseshoe crabs, with their alien appearance and mysterious blue blood, are not the crabs they’re named for, nor are they relics to be ignored. These magnificent survivors date back hundreds of millions ...

black and orange crab on brown rock

Why Does Evolution Keep Making Crabs? The Strange Phenomenon of Carcinization

Annette Uy

The ocean is a vast and mysterious world, teeming with life forms that have adapted in fascinating ways over millions of years. Among these adaptations is a peculiar evolutionary trend known as “carcinization.” This term refers to the phenomenon where various species of crustaceans, over time, evolve into crab-like forms. But why does evolution seem ...