“…and today we’re talking about a boss that puts the team on his back. But more on that later.”
In everyday life, it’s often necessary to wear many different hats. You’re a student, an employee, a parent, and more. In nature, it’s no different. While it’s rare for animals to wear actual hats, the sponge crab takes on the roles of bus, master of disguise, and true, bonafide hat wearer. Of course, that’s just undersea fashion in Life, Death, and Taxonomy.
Description of the Sponge Crab
- Pretty standard crab fare. Ten legs, two claws, eye stalks, hard carapace.
- Its shell is often cream colored but it can be yellow and is covered in a chitinous fur
- It’s pretty stocky for a crab – solid, well-built
- But it’s pretty darn small
Measure Up
Welcome to the beloved Measure Up segment. The official listener’s favorite part of the show! The part of the show when we present the animal’s size and dimension in relatable terms through a quiz that’s fun for the whole family. It’s also the part of the show that’s introduced by you when you send in audio of yourself saying, singing, or chittering the words Measure Up into ldtaxonomy at gmail dot com. We do have a new Measure Up intro!
Length
- 50 millimeters (2.0 in)
- How many sponge crabs go into the length of the USS Gerald R. Ford?
- Hint: The Ford is a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier that is currently in the eastern Mediterranean to “bolster regional deterrence efforts” in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. People in Greece and Turkey that have sighted the ship off the coast have been struck by its impressive size. As a nuclear powered ship, it can sail for around 25 years before needing a refuel.
- 6,636 crabs. 1,106 ft (337 m)
Depth
- 500m
- How many of the highest standing vertical jumps go into the living depth of the sponge crab?
- Hint: The record is held by Christopher Spell, a personal trainer in Shrub Oak, New York in 2021.
- The record jump was 67 inches (5.6’ or 170 cm)
Fast Facts about the Sponge Crab
- Range: Lives in the coral reefs around the coast of Namibia and South Africa
- Diet: It’s a scavenger that eats dead plants and animals it finds. However, it will also crack open and eat mollusks it can catch
- Behavior: Females have distinctive longitudinal grooves on the underside. The eggs of some species hatch into young crabs instead of free-swimming larvae.
Major Fact: Sponge Hat
Sponge crabs are similar to the LDT alumni, spider decorator crab, in that it wears junk on its carapace.
Crabs will find a sponge colony and cut off a piece to hold onto its back. They actually have a pair of legs that are curved upward, instead of down to the ground. These legs are designed to hold their hats in place like they are Don Draper and it’s a blustery day on Madison avenue.
Japanese researchers wanted to study their selection process. So they gave them a large foam block to try on for size. The crabs would dig a little dent and slip it onto their heads and then walk around a bit. You know, get a feel for it.
If they don’t like it, they will continue to cut it down to size until it fits. Usually, the sponge covers their entire carapace.
Because they can test and adjust the size of the sponge, researchers believe they could have some level of awareness of their own body.
But why do they wear these living hats?
Sponges allow the crab to camouflage into reefs and rocks that it finds in its environment. When it’s resting, it tucks itself in, looking indistinguishable from an inert sponge clinging to a rock.
Sometimes, the sponges it wears have their own toxins, which means that even if something were to try to take a bite out of it, they would get a deadly mouthful.
Another member of its family called the fluffy crab (Lamarckdromia beagle) drapes itself in a specific kind of sponge that grows all over its carapace. This sponge grows in long strands, which make the crab look like it’s covered in fur.
Ending: So gentlemen, don your sponge hats, eat some deep-sea escargot, and dress to the tens like the decapodian sponge crab here in LDT.