Kalina1966
IMG_4167 (2) Surprise! :)
Sand bubbler crabs (or sand-bubblers) are small crabs - around 1cm (0.4 in) across the carapace - that live on sandy beaches in the tropical Indo-Pacific. They feed by filtering sand through their mouthparts, leaving behind balls of sand that are disintegrated by the incoming high tide. Sand bubbler crabs live in burrows in the sand, where they remain during high tide. When the tide is out, they emerge on to the surface of the sand, and pass the sand through their mouthparts, eating detritus and plankton, and discarding the processed sand as pellets, which cover the beach. The crabs work radially from the entrance to their burrows, which they re-enter as the tide rises and disintegrates the pellets. In each burrow, the crab waits out the high tide in a bubble of air.
IMG_4167 (2) Surprise! :)
Sand bubbler crabs (or sand-bubblers) are small crabs - around 1cm (0.4 in) across the carapace - that live on sandy beaches in the tropical Indo-Pacific. They feed by filtering sand through their mouthparts, leaving behind balls of sand that are disintegrated by the incoming high tide. Sand bubbler crabs live in burrows in the sand, where they remain during high tide. When the tide is out, they emerge on to the surface of the sand, and pass the sand through their mouthparts, eating detritus and plankton, and discarding the processed sand as pellets, which cover the beach. The crabs work radially from the entrance to their burrows, which they re-enter as the tide rises and disintegrates the pellets. In each burrow, the crab waits out the high tide in a bubble of air.