Cap'n Kuppa

We Welcome All to Crustan!

Ahoy there, me hearties! I be Captain Kuppa, a male atlantic red crab with a penchant for adventure and a ship by the name of Crustan.

Me mission be to enlighten the landlubbers about the swashbuckling life of us crustaceans. Despite me wide abdomen, a trait more common among the fairer sex of me kind, I be a self made man and a true buccaneer at heart.

The scars of battle have left me with a hooked hand and a patched eye, but they be badges of honor from the Big War on Crabs.

Me ship, Crustan, be open to all who seek to join me crew, be they human or crustacean, regardless of their race, species, or identity.

Together, we shall sail the seven seas, spreading the word of the crustacean way of life and forging a diverse and inclusive crew that knows no bounds. So hoist the anchor, me hearties, and prepare to embark on a grand mission with me, Captain Kuppa and the decapod crew of Crustan!

" I enjoy some good clap o' thunder and loud human chanteys like the zingavabob called rock n roll'. " -Captain Kuppa

Say ahoy to the cheerleader of deep seas:

Pom Pom Crab!

[Lybia Tessellata]

These crabs are known for their signature move of always carrying a small living sea anemone around, which helps them catch food and protect themselves from predators. And thas' where they get them name from!

They arr also called "Hawaiian Boxer Crabs"

They can live up to 6 years in a human-made, low competition environment.

Yes, it do shake them pom poms. If provoked or attacked by a predator, the pom-pom crab will threaten the aggressor by waving it’s anemones around, the tentacles armed with cnidocytes (stinging cells).

The Pom Pom Crab are very popular in nano tanks. But don't be keeping these wild hearties in a small cage! They belong in deep seas, not yer aquarium.

[ Fun Fact! This fellows Hawaiian name is kūmimi pua, meaning “inedible flower crab”. ]

Lybia tessellata is a small crab growing to a width of about 2.5 cm (1 in).

The females are sometimes seen with a large red egg mass on the lower part of the body. The eggs hatch and undergo several stages before settling down on the sea floor.

The chelipeds(entire claw) do not have the broad chelae (claws) typical of decapod crabs. Instead they are slim and each has a fine finger bearing eight or nine spines.

What a fit fo' the typical cheerleader gal stereotypa!

They be professional cleaners too! The sea anemone’s tentacles can be used like mops, gathering debris and food particles from the ground around the crab’s hiding place.

They be omnivores but apparently prefer animal matter to plant matter. The front claws are not used for feeding at all, and the first pair of working legs are used for feeding.

Cap'n Kuppa supports all neurodivergent brained decapods and homo sapienses. Me myself have autistic mates an' its an honor to serve em!

[Ocypode Quadrata]

Ready to learn about the Hannibal Lecter of crustacean family? Hop on board!

Starter : The Atlantic ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata, is a species of ghost crab. It is a common species along the Atlantic coast of the United States, where it is the only species of ghost crab.

Some fun facts about this good spooky fella!

A 2023 study using the well known mirror test found that these crabs seem to be capable of recognizing themselves in a mirror. They are self-aware.

The atlantic ghost crabs must return to water periodically to moisten their gills, and when larvae must be released into the sea, but they are otherwise terrestrial.

Their stalked compound eyes can swivel to give them 360° vision.

Fun Fact! Ghost crabs are arguably the fastest terrestrial invertebrates, capable of running at more than a meter per second.

The Atlantic ghost crab lives in burrows (like fiddle crabs!) in sand above the strandline.

These burrows can be up to 1.3 m (4'3) deep, and can be closed off with sand during hot periods.

Young crabs are cryptically colored to blend in with their sandy habitats. This way predators are less likely to see them.

Ghostie mate can produce a variety of sounds by striking the ground with the claw, by stridulation with the legs, and an incompletely explained "bubbling sound"

O. quadrata is more active at night than in the day, and is an omnivore, eating clams, mole crabs, insects, plant material, detritus, and even other crabs. They also feed on the eggs and hatchlings of sea turtles.

CANNIBALISM!? Traitors shall walk the plank!

Ghost crabs are both predators and scavengers, and they feed at night. Their prey can be influenced by the type of beach they live on.

These fuckers arr' also mostly carnivores. They got taste, don't they?

Angular Crab

[Goneplax Rhomboides]

Blimey! This long armed fellow is hella scary but there we go. All aboard before Cap'n Kuppa starts his lecture!

Goneplax Rhomboides is known by the common name Angular Crab because of its angular carapace. Although it is also called the square crab, its shell is in fact more trapezoidal than square. This species is also known as the mud-runner because they are able to run away quickly when threatened.

What a fella! This mans even got four nicknames. However mates, with full respect I wouldn't want a landlubber like them in me ship. We fight an' go down like real men, not run!

This species inhabits muddy habitats similar to those favoured by the Norway lobster and burrows into inshore muddy sand.

Told ye, didn't I? This man is a landlubber! No place in sea. He's way too pretty, let em be a model instead. They will eat the other contestants alive, putting me highest bet!

The setae (plural for seta : a stiff structure resembling a hair) on the antennae, mouthparts and legs of angular crabs are home to Triticella flava, a species of Bryozoa ("moss animal"). The short lifespan of these symbiotic moss animals is synchronized so that they produce larvae just before the crab moults. These larvae then attach to the crab's newly emerged exoskeleton.

Ever watched The Venom? Aye, ye get what I mean don't ya? Sounds gross, I know I know but one shoul' see the natural friendship between em' huh? (I am incredibly horrified by this information)

This is all for today because yer captain is fighting his demons rn (anxiety)

— Fiddler Crab, the cool dude

A fiddler crab, (also called a calling crab), is a land crab that lives in mud or sand flats near the beach. The reason this crab is called a fiddler crab is because it holds its large cheliped(claw) called major pincher in front of its body and moves it back and forth as if it is playing a fiddle. They also do the peace ✌️ symbol quite a lot, what a buncha hippies!

The male fiddler crab has one huge cheliped and another smaller cheliped. Sometimes it's the right cheliped that's the big one and sometimes it's the left. If a male loses its large cheliped, the smaller one will grow large to replace it. This huge cheliped is so large that it is sometimes bigger than the whole crab. It is this cheliped they wave back and forth. (And hey man, Cap Kuppa loves that shit!!)

Captain apologizes for bad quality of the photo.

The fiddler crab eats by first opening its mouth, then using its maxillipeds (a part of its mouth), it scoops in a small amount of mud or sand, depending on where it lives. Then, it uses its other mouthparts to scrape any food matter (algae, decaying animals or plants) it can from the dirt it has just put into its mouth. After this, it forms the mud or sand into a little pellet, which is called a feeding pellet. It then drops the feeding pellet and starts all over again.

(Plenty of work it is.)

The reason the male fiddler crab has such a big claw is to attract females. Every two weeks during the summer, male fiddler crabs build little round burrows, which are deeper and better than the ones they usually build. The crabs guard these burrows fiercely. Where there are lots of fiddler crabs, there are usually hundreds of these little burrows all lined up only a few inches apart.

Each male fiddler crab stands out in front of his burrow waiting for the females to return from eating. The females then walk around looking at the different burrows. As they walk past, the males wave their big chelipeds back and forth. If a female likes a male or burrow, she will stop and stare. Then the male begins waving his cheliped wildly.

Sometimes the female will run away. However, if she stays, the male will run between her and the burrow, back and forth, again and again. If she has still not run away, she will come closer to the burrow. Then the male will enter the burrow a little and start drumming against the side of the tunnel with his cheliped. If the female likes what she hears, she will go down into the burrow, and they will mate.

Uff, what a gentleman! And they say love is dead. Nah, can ye imagine? Some crazy guy waving his big ass pinchers ya? Believe it or not, it's romantic. 🦀 Humans better be more like us crustacean folk.