Big Book of Animals

Big Book of Animals — page 7 — Crabs Crabs are decapods meaning they have 10 legs As with lobsters four pairs are for walking and one pair is for fighting mating displays and feeding Like all arthropods crab bodies are usually covered with a hard coating called an exo or outside skeleton A crab’s abdomen is tucked away giving them a rounder body shape The abdomen is also narrower in males than in females Crabs are omnivorous and eat algae worms mollusks bacteria fungi and carrion Where do hermit crabs get their shells Despite their name hermit crabs aren’t true crabs but are instead close relatives They do not grow their own hard casings like other crabs so they must use other empty shells often mollusk or snail shells and structures for protection moving into larger shells as they grow They move by dragging their shell along the ground with their legs and retreat into it when threatened Are pea crabs really the size of peas They certainly are but they can grow as large as a fava bean Pea crabs live in the shells of oysters cockles and mussels moving in uninvited for protection For this reason they are also called oyster crabs although they are found mainly in mussels They can cause damage to the breathing apparatus of their hosts by occasionally taking a hungry nibble at their gills and they also steal their host’s food to survive The pea crab is found from southern Scandinavia to western Africa and throughout the Mediterranean Fully-grown female pea crabs can sometimes grow too large to escape the shells in which they live and are imprisoned for the rest of their lives Hermit crabs live in a variety of habitats Some live on land while others live in the sea

Big Book of Animals — page 8 — The common shore crab is a very aggressive species often fighting with its own kind Which crab lives in a rock pool Common shore crabs live in waters up to about 197 ft 60 m deep but are often found in salt marshes estuaries and rock pools Common shore crabs eat worms small snails other smaller crabs algae carrion or dead animals mollusks and whatever else they can find It is more often young or immature common shore crabs that inhabit rock pools How much crab do humans eat over 1.5 million tons a year The Japanese spider crab is a very old species of crab and it is often referred to as a living fossil How big is a Japanese spider crab Fully grown the Japanese spider’s leg span can be as large as 12 ft 4 m which is as long as a car but it only weighs 42 lb 29 kg It is the largest of all the crabs These spider crabs live at depths of up to 1000 ft 350 m at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean Japanese spider crabs have orange bodies and their legs are thin with white spots Despite its huge and fearsome appearance it is fairly docile This makes them easy to catch and eat and they are under threat from humans

Big Book of Animals — page 9 — Centipedes and Millipedes Centipedes and millipedes are arthropods with long segmented bodies and many legs Centipedes are predators that hunt using their claws and strong jaws that can inject poison into their prey They are also flatter-bodied than the rounder-shaped millipedes Millipedes are not predators but vegetarians eating rotten or fresh plants Each segment of a centipede has one pair of legs while each segment of a millipede has two pairs Millipedes therefore often have more legs than centipedes but always less than the 1,000 in their name How do millipedes defend themselves Although it is large the giant millipede like all millipedes is quite slow and cannot bite or sting So a millipede’s hard exoskeleton is the first method of defense many smaller predators cannot pierce it with their jaws Also to protect their softer undersides giant millipedes roll up into a ball and tuck in their legs Some also secrete toxic substances from glands along the sides of their bodies or the middle of their backs Some can even produce hydrogen cyanide gas The giant millipede coils tightly to defend itself from attack The giant centipede’s body is made of between 20-23 segments and it has around 40-46 legs Can centipedes really eat bats The giant centipede does It is the largest centipede in the world and can grow longer than 12 in 30 cm To hunt bats giant centipedes crawl into caves and dangle themselves from the ceiling They then catch them as they fly by and disable them with their strong venom They can also eat other larger animals such as lizards frogs birds and mice The giant centipede lives in South America and the Caribbean

Big Book of Animals — page 10 — How do millipedes walk Millipedes walk by lifting each pair Millipedes have blunt heads to help them push through the leaf litter of legs at a time It looks like they are moving along in a wave Like centipedes their eyesight is very poor and they sense their way by regularly tapping their antennae on the ground ahead of them They have special hairs on the second or third pair of legs to keep the antennae clean Millipedes are detritivores which means they eat rotting wood and leaves collected on the ground and How many legs does a millipede have The largest number is 750 but most have between 80-400 recycling process so play a part in nature’s Centipedes can have as few as 30 legs to as many as 170 legs Which centipedes live under rocks Common European centipedes are often found under rocks They feed on insects spiders and other small invertebrates An adult is about 1 in 2 5 cm long with around 30 legs These centipedes eyesight is poor so they rely on their antennae to find their way around

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