Christmas Island red crab
| Christmas Island Red Crab | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Gecarcoidea natalis Pocock, 1888 |
The Christmas Island red crab (Gecarcoidea natalis) is a species of terrestrial crab endemic to Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. Although restricted to a relatively small area, it is estimated that up to 120 million red crabs may live there, making it the most abundant of the 14 terrestrial crab species on Christmas Island [1]. Mostly, Christmas Island red crabs eat fallen leaves and flowers, but will occasionally eat other animals, including other red crabs (see cannibalism), if the opportunity arises. They live in burrows, in order to shelter from the sun. Since they still breathe through gills, the possibility of drying out is a great danger for them.
Christmas Island red crabs are famous for their annual migration to the sea in order to lay their eggs in the ocean.