Coconut Crabs: These Crustaceans Have Claws And Pinch Like Lions' Bite

Crabs are known for their pincers, but the larger they are, the stronger they get. The world's largest land-living crustaceans, Birgus latro, or coconut crabs, are even known for their strength.

According to Science Mag, these creatures are known to loft over 30 kilograms of weight and are known for cracking into coconuts for food. Any man who ever tried to pry open a coconut with his own hands will know that this feat is simply impossible.

These mysterious crustaceans, the coconut crabs, use their claws to scrape away the fibrous coconut coating before using its claw to break it open. Despite what their name incurs, they can eat more than just coconuts. Their diet also consist of fruits, nuts, material that fall from trees, carrion and other crabs. They also kind of eat their very own selves. Reuters noted that after molting, these crabs will eat their own exoskeleton.

Exactly how strong a coconut crab's pinch is, however, remained a mystery -- until now. Researchers were able to capture 29 coconut crabs in Okinawa Island in Japan and recorded them clamping down on steel force sensors. From these, they found in their study published in PLOS One that the pinching forces range from 29.4 to 1765.2 newtons among the crabs. Humans, meanwhile, can bite at 340 newtons at most.

However, the researchers also found that the crabs pinching forces correlate to their body weights, and researchers calculated that a 4-kilogram coconut crab could exert a shocking 3,300 newtons with its claw -- greater than any bite of any animal on land, including leopards, bears and even wild dogs.

Marine biologist Shin-ichiro Oka of the Okinawa Churashima Foundation, lead researcher of the study, said that "The pinching force of the largest coconut crab is almost equal to the bite force of adult lions."