Decorator Crabs: `Chameleons` on the seabed 1Decorator Crabs: `Chameleons` on the seabed 1

From spider crabs, mud crabs, moss crabs, to tooth crabs and arrow crabs, there are more than 700 different species of crabs belonging to the superfamily Majoidea – ornamental crabs.

Ornamental crabs are crabs of several different species, belonging to the superfamily Majoidea, that use materials from their environment to hide or ward off predators.

According to Marine Madness, most of these crabs use other marine life as `building materials,` which include corals, seaweed, sponges, sea fans, anemones, seagrass, sea urchins,

Decorator Crabs: `Chameleons` on the seabed

In 1889, William Bateson observed in detail how these crabs fix materials on their backs.

However, using other creatures as camouflage does not mean killing them.

Decorator Crabs: `Chameleons` on the seabed

In nature, animals are under pressure to change to blend in with their environment or hide their appearance;

The degree to which ornamental crabs are particular to their decorations was clearly demonstrated by research conducted in 1940 by the British zoologist and camouflage expert, Hugh Bamford Cott, who

Decorator Crabs: `Chameleons` on the seabed

Reviewing studies carried out by different authors, Hultgren and Stachowicz show that some species are very specialized in their choice of camouflage.

Cott moved a number of these ornamental crabs from their home off the coast of England to different locations, and found that each time they were placed in a new location, they immediately began to decorate.

Decorator Crabs: `Chameleons` on the seabed

It is found throughout the world’s oceans and seas.

In addition to using camouflage to protect themselves, some crabs have gone further with their use of decorations – using them to enhance their defenses in other ways.

Decorator Crabs: `Chameleons` on the seabed

In fact, the lifespan of these crabs has not yet been specifically estimated.

Furthermore, some species also know how to take advantage of their camouflage to attack.

There are about 700 species of ornamental crabs.

If provoked or attacked by a predator, they will threaten the predator and try to stop it by waving their anemones around, their tentacles fully equipped with cnidocytes (stinging cells).

Other ornamental crabs even take advantage of the aquatic species Hydrichthella epigorgia, which, like coral, is made up of countless tiny polyps that work together as a collective organism.

Reference: Earthlymission;

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