News > 'Incredible' mass gathering of spider crabs in Falmouth

'Incredible' mass gathering of spider crabs in Falmouth

26/08/2021 11:14 PM | Click to read full article

Thousands of spider crabs have been spotted in a mass gathering off the coast of Cornwall. The aggregation of male crabs was filmed in knee-deep water, a few metres from a Falmouth beach at low tide. The annual spectacle happens because the crabs rally together to protect themselves while moulting.

Mass aggregations happen between late summer and early autumn when the crabs crack open their exoskeletons and grow a new outer shell, the charity said.

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