Huge Horde of Crabs Swarming on Ocean Floor

Huge Horde of Crabs Swarming on Ocean Floor - Printable Version

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Huge Horde of Crabs Swarming on Ocean Floor - Yazata - Apr 12, 2016

A research boat from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute has photographed a huge horde of red crabs swarming across the ocean floor west of Panama.

The crab species is known to be abundant west of Baja California to the north, but this is its southernmost sighting.

The extraordinary thing about it is the numbers of crabs involved. They look like an army of orcs from above, maybe millions of them. In the video, it looks like they are surrounded by clouds, presumably sediment that they are kicking up off the bottom. Bad news for whatever is on the ocean floor wherever they are going.

http://www.sci-news.com/biology/video-swarming-red-crabs-03776.html

I've never heard of crabs exhibiting social behavior, so I wonder what caused them to gather together like this in these kind of numbers.

RE: Huge Horde of Crabs Swarming on Ocean Floor - Magical Realist - Apr 12, 2016

Quote:I've never heard of crabs exhibiting social behavior, so I wonder what caused them to gather together like this in these kind of numbers.

I personally rallied these deep sea denizens with an ancient Atlantean sea ritual designed to interrupt spring break activities on the Panama coast. I figured promiscuous drunk college students would be used to "crab attacks" by now..