SPECIES
Coconut crab
Birgus latro
The biggest land-dwelling arthropod can climb trees and crack open tough food.
This hermit-crab relative spends its adult life mainly on land.
It scavenges and feeds on plant material, fruit and animal remains.
Tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean islands.
Where does a coconut crab live?
Tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean islands.
Worth knowing
- Adaptation This hermit-crab relative spends its adult life mainly on land.
- Ecological role It scavenges and feeds on plant material, fruit and animal remains.
- Home Tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean islands.
How it survives
This hermit-crab relative spends its adult life mainly on land.
The biggest land-dwelling arthropod can climb trees and crack open tough food.
Why relationships matter
It scavenges and feeds on plant material, fruit and animal remains.
Where it lives
Tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean islands.
Pressures and responses
Overharvesting, habitat conversion and introduced predators.
Protect breeding adults and island habitat.
Sources
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology — Animal Diversity Web, Birgus latro
- GBIF — Birgus latro accepted taxon
- Natural History Museum London — Coconut crab ecology
- Drew et al 2010 — Coconut crab biology and ecology review
Records of where it has been seen come live from GBIF; observed interactions from GloBI. Draft — not yet reviewed by a person.