Monday, July 27, 2009

The Critters: Fiddler Crabs

Since then, I was found still squatting, and waiting for the little crabs before any bites by mosquitoes.

The following pictures though appear in sequence, those crabs actually came out from the holes at the same time. They moved partially out from the holes, checked the surrounding and the unprepared me, and retreated immediately when I started to response.

The game continued until both sides got tired, but they actually were semi-paralysed by the flashes.

This black one was found behind a rock. A little cautious while coming out, but became a immediate star who was stormed by flashes. Anyhow, it lasted not long.

A new target was waving its claw to me. The male crab has an over sized large claw that is used in clashes over a female.

"Ugh, I do not has any interest in your girl friend. I have mine."

The stare discomforted me. I moved my camera to the nearby handsome.

These fiddler crabs communicated to me by a sequence of waves and gestures, in an unfriendly manner. They are not afraid of any fighting. If they have lost legs or claws, a new one will grow when they molt. If the large fiddle claw is lost, one will be developed on the opposite side after the next molt.

Anyway I was not here to start a fight. They were only tiny crabs, the largest being slightly over two inches across.


I only wanted to take a few nice shots to share with my friends. Somehow I have accomplished my mission. I then called it a day, it was getting dark now.

Bye-bye my friends, see you all in my next trip.

21 comments:

cherie said...

orange, black, and red - all three different colors but the same kind of crab? i would have stayed there till the mosquitoes came myself, thanks, rainfield!

Willie a.k.a Reptoz said...

Wah...didn't u catch them for dinner?

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

This is the first time I've seen such crabs!

Slow and Beautiful — Snail

Kirigalpoththa said...

Lots of different varieties of crab! All came from one place?

I like the one with red claw.

•°°• IcyBC •°°• said...

I like the different colors of claws on these crabs! What a wonderful encounter..

Cherry said...

are those crabs edible? rare encounter, huh! your posts are always interesting.., be looking forward to your next adventure. :)

The Retired One said...

Wow!!
Thanks for sharing these unique creatures in the wild with us....and for braving the mosquitos!

Bengbeng said...

quite an adventure... i admire yr encounters with nature

rainfield61 said...

cherie: I wouldn't stay until the mosquitoes came, I preferred coming back the next day. Hahaha...

Willie: Oh no!!! I don't think they have anything to offer.

Bhavesh Chhatbar: Then come again to see for the second, third or more times. BTW, welocme. Your have a lovely blog.

Kirigalpoththa: They are neighbours to each other in the same place. They will knock on the doors when I am not around.

Icy BC: Hope that this will bring you a wonderful day.

Cher: Why not come over to Malaysia, have a look by yourself.
Haha... Welcome to Malaysia.

The Retired One: This is my problem, no pain on me, no gain on you.

Bengbeng: Thanks for your admiration. This motivates me for another 1mm.

George said...

Thanks for these wonderful pictures of the colorful fiddler crabs. I've never seen such color before.

Joanne Olivieri said...

I haven't seen those different colors. Pretty cool photos. I guess they became "crabby" with you being there and photographing them :)

betchai said...

wow, what wonderful colors, i have never seen those colors from crab before, thank you for thinking of us when you experience them, they look very interesting.

Redzlan said...

Ha,ha!, beautiful and colourful. Very big claws.
I'm allergic to crab. :)

Rick (Ratty) said...

You got great shots of these crabs. I agree with the others, I like the colors of these crabs. It's good they are so small. You wouldn't want to get in a fight with one of them and lose a claw.

CH said...

Those colourful crabs are cute. I can find them near where I stay too. You have presented them well.

rainfield61 said...

George: These colourful fiddler crabs are shy whenever a stranger get near. You are lucky enough.

Poetic Shutterbug: Those crabs become crabby, then I'll become rainy. lol.

betchai: I'll count one, two, three.. and if I miss any counting, I must recount again, in order not to miss out any of my good friends whenever I have any interesting discovery.

Tabib: Luckily looking at the picture won't hurt you.

Ratty: I cannot bully them, you know, they are not Mr Nutz.

CH: These colourful fiddler crabs are common living at mudlands in Malaysia. They help to add some beautiful colour to these places.

Anonymous said...

I like the red crabs. Love the colour.

Ayie said...

used to see a lot of these crabs when i stayed there in a beach for 2months...they are the sand dwellers there =)

maricar said...

cool shots rainfield61! ;)

i would love to come back to Malaysia one day and go crab hunting with you ;) you've shown me a different and beautiful side of Malaysia, thanks.

Heather Dugan ("Footsteps") said...

Such vibrant colors! I'm catching up on your posts tonight. I've missed some interesting stuff!

WiseAcre said...

'I'm a fiddler crab. Shoot me! Shoot me!' ...Daffy Duck

I think I'll go and pull out my Looney Tunes collection to watch again.