Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Crabday!

I hope you are all having a lovely day! To celebrate Valentine's Crabday, I thought it would be perfect to introduce you all to the incredibly lovely

Heart Crab
Phyllolithodes papillosus

I *heart* this crab!
 
Imagine my surprise and joy when I found out this beauty is an Alaska native! Heart crabs, or flatspine triangle crabs (yawn), spread the love from Dutch Harbor, Alaska all the way to southern California. They're lithodids, meaning they're related to the king crabs we know and love. The red hearts are actually large bumps, or 'papillae', hence their species name papillosus. The neat thing is that, while the adults are beautiful in their own Valentine-themed way, the juveniles have white, purple, and orange markings too!

"Yar, check out me orange beard!" - juvie heart crab

If you haven't already, don't forget to make someone (or some pet) a special card for today:
 
Lobster Love (a bit risque)

Share the Crab Love!

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