Monday, April 29 2024 @ 02:19 PM JST

Australian Federation Christmas Island_Crab spawning / incubation / spawning

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Australian Federation Christmas Island Christmas Island Travel Report (34th  

1 month old crab baby

Baby crab (5mm)

Crab hatching

Moment of spawning ・ The brown part is the egg

Standby for spawning

Male on the left and female on the right

   During the spawning season from November to December, it takes 7 to 18 days to move from the forest to the coast.
Males arrive 5 to 7 days earlier than females, hydrate with seawater, and then dig a burrow.
  Females enter the burrows dug by males and breed.
The male returns to the burrow in the mountains after hydrating with seawater.
  The female lays an egg in the burrow (depth 80 cm) within 2 to 3 days.
     Hold eggs for 12 to 13 days until they grow (100,000 eggs at a time)
  Eggs in seawater on the morning of the new moon or at high tide before dawn.
  Spawning lasts 5 to 6 days, and returns to land 1-2 days after spawning.
  After spawning in the sea, it hatches immediately, and one month later, it becomes a larva shaped like a shrimp and returns to the Island.  
  It becomes a crab of about 5 mm and heads inland for about 9 days.
  It grows under fallen trees, branches and rocks for 3 years.
  It takes 4 to 5 years to grow to 40 mm (shell width).

Crab spawning / incubation / spawning