4167 x 4952 px | 35,3 x 41,9 cm | 13,9 x 16,5 inches | 300dpi
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The coconut crab, Birgus latro, is the largest land-living arthropod in the world and is probably at the limit of how big terrestrial animals with exoskeletons can get under the prevailing conditions. Their body is divided into four regions; the cephalic lobe, forepart, trunk, and opisthosoma. It is a highly apomorphic hermit crab and is known for its ability to crack coconuts with its strong pincers in order to eat the contents. It is the only species of the genus Birgus. It is also called the robber crab or palm thief, because some coconut crabs are rumored to steal shiny items such as pots and silverware from houses and tents. Another name is terrestrial hermit crab, due to the use of shells by the young animals; however, there are other terrestrial hermit crabs which do not get rid of the shell even as adults. These—typically in the closely related genus Coenobita—are the animals usually called "terrestrial hermit crab"; given the close relationship between Coenobita and Birgus, the term would generally refer to any member of the Coenobitidae. The coconut crab also has a range of local names, for example, ayuyu on Guam and unga or kaveu in the Cook Islands. On Guam, it is sometimes referred to as a taotaomo'na coconut crab because of the traditional belief that ancestral spirits can return in the form of animals such as the coconut crab.
