Spider crabs

And here we have Spider Crabs! They're about 1-2 inches long, but some can grow up to 3 inches, mabye a bit longer. These crabs are unique because they grow gardens on their backs! On all these photos, you see stringy brown stuff, a little goop, and sand. (The sand wasn't supposed to be there.) These crabs collect ooze, bacteria, and plankton on their rough, spiny shells. The gooey mess attracts other plants and animals. Some of these are seaweed, sponge, tube worms, hydroids, and bryzoans. Interesting! The crabs will even snip off plants from the ocean floor, put them to their mouth, coating the organism with gluey mucus, and sticks it to their backs! 8) Wierd...