Needle crab. Crabs

Crabs are invertebrate animals that belong to decapods. Many species live in bodies of water with salt or fresh water, and some even choose to live on land.

Most often it is possible from those species that live in the sea. Most commercial crab species live in the Far Eastern seas of the Pacific basin. Traditionally, it is believed that the largest representative, the Kamchatka crab, lives here.

This is true, because you can easily weigh 5 - 6 kg. However, the statistics are such that it turns out that there is a crab that is larger in weight and leg span than the Kamchatka crab.

Where does the largest sea crab live?

The largest crab lives in the Sea of Japan. It was first described by the Dutch zoologist Konrad Jacob Temminck. He named the crab after the German scientist and taxonomist of plants and animals E. Kaempfer in 1836.

The second name of the animal is Japanese spider crab. It is believed that the size of a carapace of 30 cm and a leg span of up to 3 m are not the limit for a spider crab.

There is evidence of crabs with a carapace size of 40 cm, a leg span of 4 m and a weight of 19 kg. The size of the claws reaches 40 cm. Most often, spider crabs live near the two large islands of Japan, Kyushu and Honshu. The habitat depth reaches 800 m, but most often they are found at a depth of 300 - 400 m. Spawning takes place at a depth of 50 m. The spider crab reaches breeding age at 10 years, lives more than 50 years. The species is a commercial one, but the meat of specimens that are too large and too old is considered tasteless, as it is somewhat bitter.

The Japanese prefer to buy crab more young and smaller sizes. If a specimen of outstanding size is caught in traps, then aquariums and marine aquariums, where it can be seen by thousands of visitors.

The bulk of commercial crab species prefer to live a little further north in colder waters.

Where do crabs of the main commercial species live?
The Kamchatka crab has rightly been considered the best commercial species for more than 100 years. You can buy Kamchatka crab, which lives in the seas Far East:
Japanese;
Okhotsk;
Beringov.
The presence of the Kamchatka crab in these seas is explained moderate temperatures water throughout the year and salinity level. IN winter time the temperature at the depth of habitat does not drop below + 1, in summer above + 12. Salinity on average remains at the level of 32 - 33 ppm. Rarely is it below 30 or above 34 ppm.

The main habitat depth of the Kamchatka crab varies from 4 m to 500 meters. The Kamchatka crab feels most comfortable at depths from 20 to 200 m. Other commercial crabs also live at these depths:
blue;
equal-spike;
barbed;
strigun opilio;
quadrangular hairy;
Baird's stringer.

Throughout the year, the depth of habitat of crabs changes. One of the reasons is interspecific competition. Kamchatka crab and hairy crabs in summer stay at depths from 10 to 50 m. At the same time, Baird's snow crab and blue crab prefer to live at depths from 25 to 100 m. Opilio snow crab and equal-spined crabs move to the mainland shallows.
Strigun angulatus and Strigun red live on quite great depth, from 600 m to 1.6 km.

One of the seas of the Northern basin Arctic Ocean according to its conditions, it was theoretically suitable for the life of the Kamchatka crab. It's about about the Barents Sea. It was there that Kamchatka crabs were released in the last century. In this century, you can buy a crab that has successfully mastered a new habitat.

It should be said that they live listed species crabs from both the American and Asian sides.

In addition to the Pacific seas, there is a commercial crab that lives in the seas of the Atlantic basin from Norway to Africa. We are talking about a large land crab. The crab got its name because its main habitat is the coastal tide zone. The main country producing large land crabs is England. The size of this marine crustacean is quite decent. Its carapace can reach 25 cm, weight - 3 kg.

In addition to the usual crabs that come to trading network, there are very exotic species that also have impressive sizes, have delicious meat and are used as food.

Where does the exotic palm thief crab live?
IN Pacific Ocean, in its western part, as well as in Indian Ocean and its seas are inhabited by very interesting representative decapods. Born in sea water, these crabs live in it only for the first half of their life.

They spend the second part of their life on land. The name of this crab is also very exotic - palm thief.
This type of crab, like the Kamchatka crab, belongs to hermit crabs.

During the sea period of his life, he is forced to hide his body in empty shells gastropods. The second half of life is spent in tropical forest among the coconut palms. Buying crab from a coconut grove is a great success, because under the shell of a coconut thief hides a couple of kilograms of excellent meat.

You can get acquainted with the assortment of our online store

Kamchatka crab, other names - king crab, red king crab, giant king crab - Paralithodes camtschatica.

Inhabits northern regions Far Eastern seas. Kamchatka, Shantar Islands, Bristol Bay, Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea, shores of Sakhalin, Kuril Islands, northern part Sea of Japan(Peter the Great Bay and Hokkaido coast).

Kamchatka crab is one of the largest species of crustaceans. It looks like a crab, which is why it got its name, but in reality it is closer to hermit crabs. The body consists of a cephalothorax, which is covered with a common shell, and a belly (abdomen). The abdomen is folded under the cephalothorax, and looks like a tail, which the crab does not have. The shell protects the crab from enemies and serves as a support for the muscles. Internal skeleton absent. On cutting edge The crab's shell has a beak that protects the crab's eyes. Nervous system The (chain) of the crab runs along the underside of the body. The female differs from the male in having a more strongly developed abdomen. The male's abdomen is almost triangular. The lateral edges of the shell cover the gills, which are washed by water. The crab's stomach is in the head, and the heart is in the back of the body. Six large spines protrude above the heart on the shell, and eleven above the stomach. Eight legs are involved in locomotion, including legs with claws. The fifth pair of legs is reduced; the crab hides it under its shell and uses it from time to time to clean its gills. With its right claw, the Kamchatka crab crushes the shells of mollusks and sea urchins, and with its left claw it cuts worms and other soft animals.

The Kamchatka crab is called red - the top of the shell and legs of the Kamchatka crab are dark red (red-brown), with a purple tint. Yellowish-white underneath.

Large males have a cephalothorax width of up to 25 cm. Leg span is up to 150 cm. Weight: male - up to 7.5 kg, female - 4.3 kg.

Life expectancy: 15-20 years.

The Kamchatka crab lives at depths from 2 to 270 m, preferring leveled areas of the shelf with sand or mud.

The enemies of the crab are humans, octopuses, gobies, cod, hairy quadrangular crab, sea otter, and fish (sculpin).

The crab's diet includes bottom invertebrates (molluscs, starfish, arrows, sea urchins, especially the flat sea urchin Echinarachnius, worms), fish, crustaceans, zoo- and phytoplankton. Fingerlings feed on hydroids.

The Kamchatka crab migrates regularly (speed up to 1.8 km/h). Every year it repeats the same route. In winter (off the western coast of Kamchatka) it goes to a depth of 110-200 m. In spring, in schools (large males separately from females and juveniles) they rise from the depths to warmed shallow water.

Adult crabs molt once a year. Molting lasts about three days (all this time the crab hides in holes at the bottom or crevices between rocks). During molting, the crab not only changes its shell, it also breaks away from the old walls of the stomach, esophagus, and intestines. Renews all tendons. Molting females are guarded by males. After molting, females and young males move to shallow water, while adult males move deeper into rich food fields.

During molting, remaining in a new soft shell, the female releases dark purple eggs under her belly. Later, in the summer, the eggs become brown, and the following spring you can already see the eyes of the embryos in each egg. One female lays up to 20-445 thousand eggs. The following spring, on the way to shallow water, the larvae emerge from the eggs, and the females continue on their way. Each year, the female lays eggs once, while the male can mate with several females (up to 11) during the entire breeding season.

Breeding season: in Primorye: March-April. Females become sexually mature at 8 years, males at 10 years.

The courtship ritual is interesting: the female stands in front of the male and holds his claws with her claws. Crabs can remain in this position for up to 3-7 days. The female helps the male molt, after which mating occurs.

Pregnancy/incubation lasts 11 and a half months. The crab larva is the size of a fly, it has a long abdomen, an oblong smooth shell with three spines along the edges. There are no legs. Swims with the help of its jaws, its long abdomen plays the role of a rudder. The first two months the larva lives in the water column, then it molts and settles to the bottom, where it lives in thickets of ahnfeltia algae. Mortality from birth to settling to the bottom reaches 96.5%. After birth, crab juveniles go through several stages of development. After three years, the crab larva leaves the shelter (during this time it molts several times) and moves to areas with sandy soil. At the age of 5-7 years it begins to migrate, the width of the shell reaches 43-69 mm. More than a hundred kilometers pass along the bottom in a year.

Kamchatka crab is the most valuable commercial species- a source of gourmet and dietary meat.

The number of Kamchatka crab has been greatly reduced, so its fishing is limited.

In the waters of the seas washing the shores of the Far East of our country, a creature called the Kamchatka crab lives. It belongs to the phylum of animals – crustaceans. Although the animal looks like a crab, scientists still classify it as a member of the hermit crab family, believing that its biological essence falls precisely under this category.

We won’t argue with them, but just find out more closely what kind of cancer this is, called the crab.

What is the appearance of Kamchatka crab?

It is believed that this is one of the largest representatives of crustaceans. The width of the shell is approximately 25 centimeters, and if the crab opens its legs, the distance from one leg to the other will increase to one and a half meters! The average individual Kamchatka crab weighs about 7.5 kilograms (although females are almost twice as light). The entire body of the animal consists of a fused head and chest (cephalothorax), covered with a large shell. The animal has no tail.

Inside, the crab is structured as if backwards: its heart is located in the back of the body, and the stomach, on the contrary, is in the head. The animal has ten limbs in total, but uses only eight legs to “walk”. The remaining two legs are used as a "device" for cleaning the gills.

The shell and limbs of the animal are dark red, sometimes even with a purple tint, and the abdominal part is yellowish-white.

Where does the animal live?

His territory of residence is considered to be the northern regions of the seas washing the Far Eastern region, namely: the Kamchatka region, the territory of the Shantar and Kuril Islands, shores of Sakhalin Island, northern territory Sea of Japan, Bristol Bay, Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea.

Lifestyle of the Kamchatka crab

IN marine environment lives at depths from 2 to 270 meters, choosing a flat sandy or mud bottom for living. This crab cannot be called sedentary; it constantly migrates, but always along the same route.

In the cold season, it sinks deep to the bottom - up to 200 meters, and after wintering it rises to warmer areas. spring sun upper layers of water. Molting in these animals (adults) occurs once a year, and not only the outer shell (shell) changes, but even the walls internal organs(heart, esophagus and stomach).

IN natural environment these creatures are capable of living 15 – 20 years.

What does the Kamchatka crab eat?

The main food for this crab are worms, sea urchins, small fish, plankton and a variety of shellfish.

Mating season and offspring of the Kamchatka crab

The breeding season occurs in these sea creatures at the beginning of spring. After mating games The male and female mate, as a result of which the female lays a huge number of eggs (up to 400 thousand!).

From the eggs small larvae emerge, only the size of a small fly. A “newborn” crab has no legs, and in general it is poorly protected. That is why the larva settles to the bottom, in thickets of underwater plants, and lives there for about two months. Three years after birth, the small crab moves from its old “place of residence” and begins to live on sandy soil. When a baby king crab turns 5 to 7 years old, it begins the migration process.

Who are the natural enemies of the king crab?

These underwater inhabitants become prey for sea otters, cod and other fish, gobies, and hairy quadrangular crabs. But the first place in the extermination of this species undoubtedly belongs to man.

What are people's interests? Why do they hunt these sea creatures?

The answer is obvious - a person is ready to uncontrollably consume everything that brings him benefit and benefit. So Kamchatka crab was no exception because of its most valuable, incredibly tasty and healthy meat. Mass catching continued for a long time, led to a sharp decline in the number of this species of marine animals. Therefore, strict state control has now been established on the production of Kamchatka crabs. Unfortunately, this ban did not affect the activities of poachers, and they still, breaking the law, catch these sea creatures for profit.

Subtype: Crustaceans Class: Higher crayfish Squad: Decapod crustaceans Family: Crab hermit crabs Genus: Paralithodes View: Kamchatka crab Latin name Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1885)

Images
on Wikimedia Commons

ITIS

NCBI

The cardiac and gastric regions of the shell are armed with three pairs of sharp large spines, regardless of the sex and age of the animal. The end of the beak (rostrum) is sharp, armed along the upper side with one large, often forked at the apex, spine and a pair of smaller spines. The movable spine (scaphocerite), located at the base of the outer antenna, is always simple and unbranched. The body and legs of living crabs are colored red-brown above and yellowish-white below, side surfaces have large purple spots.

Resettlement in the Barents Sea

The first attempts to study the issue of introducing the Kamchatka crab into the Barents Sea were made in 1932, however, after analyzing the situation, the work was frozen due to the lack of a reliable method of delivering crab specimens from the Far East.

Crab as a valuable food product

Meat is eaten ( white), located in the legs, claws and at the junction of the legs in the carapace, as well as the caviar. The amount of meat in an individual may vary depending on the season. The main method of preparation is boiling: crab limbs are placed in salted boiling water and cooked for 15-20 minutes. After cooking, the meat can be canned or frozen and stored.

Notes

Invertebrate of the order of decapod crustaceans. Externally it looks like a crab. The width of the cephalothorax is up to 26 cm, the leg span is up to 1.5 m, the weight is up to 7 kg. In the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk, in the southern part of the Bering Sea; numerous on the western coast of Kamchatka,... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary

Invertebrate negative decapod crustaceans. Externally it looks like a crab. The width of the cephalothorax is up to 26 cm, the leg span is up to 1.5 m, the weight is up to 7 kg. In the Sea of Japan and Okhotsk, in the south. parts of the Bering Sea; numerous in Western coast of Kamchatka, introduced in... ... Natural science. Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Paralithodes camtschatica), a decapod crustacean from the family. craboids (Lithodidae), close to hermit crabs. According to ext. looks like a real crab (hence the name). The carapace is heart-shaped, its width in some males is up to 26 cm, in females... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

Anything related to the Kamchatka region. Kamchatka Bay Kamchatka Territory Kamchatka Peninsula See also Kamchatka crab Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky Ust-Kamchatsky district Kamchatka region... Wikipedia

Invertebrate of the order of decapod crustaceans. Externally it looks like a crab. The width of the cephalothorax is up to 26 cm, the leg span is up to 1.5 m, it weighs up to 7 kg. In the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk, in the southern part of the Bering Sea; numerous on the western coast of Kamchatka,... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Crabs are a large group of aquatic and semi-aquatic animals belonging to the order Decapod Crustaceans. Crabs differ from related crayfish, shrimp, lobsters and lobsters by a noticeably shortened abdomen, tucked under a wide cephalothorax. This gives them a specific, well-recognized shape. At the same time, crabs have reached unprecedented diversity: 6,793 species of these animals are united in 93 families, which is half the number of the entire order.

The spotted-footed rock crab (Grapsus grapsus) is a native of the Galapagos Islands.

Along with a special body shape, crabs are characterized by the presence of 10 pairs of limbs. They are divided into thoracic and abdominal. The first 3 pairs of thoracic limbs are very short, they are called maxillae, because they do not participate in movement, but only serve to bring food to the mouth. The remaining pairs of thoracic legs are used for locomotion, grasping and cutting food, and can also perform other auxiliary functions. The pair of the largest and most massive legs are claws. With their help, crabs can not only hunt, but also defend themselves and participate in mating fights. The narrow specialization of these organs affected their appearance: often the right and left claws have different size and shape, giving the crab's body a noticeable asymmetry. As for the abdominal legs, they are small and are used for fertilization (in males) or bearing eggs (in females). Vital organs such as gills are connected to the chest legs of crabs. Often their petals are located directly on the leg segments or near the place of their attachment to the body.

Due to the huge difference in the size of the claws, lure crabs appear to be one-armed. Like people, these animals are right-handed and left-handed, with 85% being right-handed.

Crabs are one of the most advanced crustaceans, so they have developed sensory organs. Vision plays a big role in their lives. The eyes of these animals are complex, faceted. They are made up of thousands of eyes, each of which sees only a tiny part of the space directly in front of them. The final assembly of the image occurs in the animal’s brain. Numerous observations have proven that with the help of vision, crabs identify a potential enemy, find a partner during the breeding season, and navigate in search of food. But if an animal is blinded, it will only lose the ability to see danger, but will find food and a partner with almost the same efficiency. Antennas (“antennae”), capable of capturing odors, will help him with this. If the crab's antennae are also cut off, then it... will find food again. True, in this case he will have to spend a lot of time and effort, because he will literally move towards the prey by touch, tapping his claws on the ground. Some types of crabs have balance organs - statoliths. By the way, the eyestalks play a huge role in their physiology. These are real endocrine glands, capable of secreting hormones and regulating such body functions as the frequency of molting, the onset of puberty, and even color changes!

The Latreille's land bigeye (Macrophthalmus latreillei) has especially long eye stalks, which is associated with the need to inspect the area at a great distance.

Crabs do not have skin as such; it is replaced by a layer of hard and impenetrable chitin, which forms a kind of shell. Chitin is unable to stretch, making normal linear growth impossible. Crabs solve this problem by molting regularly. When the old shell bursts, a soft and defenseless animal emerges. It takes from several weeks to six months for the new cover to harden; during this period, the crab hides in a secluded place and grows intensively. Chitin can be impregnated with all kinds of pigments, so crabs can have almost any color.

The two-colored vampire crab (Geosesarma bicolor) gets its name from the unusual combination of bright yellow eyes with a dark purple shell. Due to its impressive appearance, it is often kept by amateur aquarists.

In addition, the chitinous cover may have outgrowths: sparse and hard, like spines, short and hard, like bristles, or long and thin, like wool.

The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) stands out among its relatives with a “fur” muff on its claws.

The sizes of these animals also vary widely. The diameter of the shell of the world's smallest pea crab does not exceed 1 cm, while the leg span of the largest Japanese spider crab reaches 4 m and weighs 20 kg.

Pea crab (Pinnotheres boninensis) lives on the coast of the Azov and Black Seas.

Crabs inhabit all the seas and oceans of the planet, but they reach their greatest diversity in the tropics. The habitat of these crustaceans has a very wide range: crabs can be found in the shallow waters of seas and oceans, among thickets of corals on reefs, at depths of up to 5000 m, in cave ponds, in the intertidal zone, mangroves and even in the depths of islands far from the coast. The vast majority of them live in salt water, about 850 species live in fresh water. Crabs, long time Those that live on land store water under their shells or develop organs like lungs. Their underdeveloped gills almost do not work, and when constantly immersed in water, such individuals die. Bottom-dwelling species are often active in the dark, land crabs most active during the day.

The second largest Tasmanian giant crab on the planet (Pseudocarcinus gigas), with a carapace width of 46 cm, weighs up to 13 kg.

When moving, these crustaceans never place both legs of one pair on the ground at the same time, which gives their gait stability, but their short body length and large number legs make it inconvenient to move forward, so crabs prefer to walk sideways. At the same time, this does not in the least prevent them from developing decent speed, for example, a grass crab covers 1 m in 1 second! But these animals swim poorly and reluctantly.

The exception is swimming crabs, whose back pair of legs are transformed into paddle-blades, thanks to which they feel in water element like home.

These crustaceans have a quarrelsome character; they all live alone and jealously guard their areas or shelters; Males are especially aggressive. At the same time, areas of small crabs are very small, so there can be up to 50 burrows per 1 sq.m. Danger is the only thing that makes the inhabitants of the colony forget about strife. When threatened, crabs signal their neighbors by waving their claws, making sounds, or tapping on the ground. Thanks to vibrations, even those individuals that do not see the enemy manage to hide.

Blue soldier crabs (Dotilla myctiroides) form large aggregations on beaches.

Shelters deserve special attention. In the simplest case, these animals hide among coral branches, in crevices between stones or shell valves, and in the cavities of sponges. But many crabs do not expect favors from nature, but instead dig holes in viscous silt or sand. These houses may have one straight passage (often quite deep), or several branched passages with emergency exits; beckoning crabs equip the entrance to the hole with a lid. Some species live under the canopy of jellyfish, among the tentacles of sea anemones, in the mantle cavity of mollusks, among the spines, or even in the rectum of sea urchins.

These holes on one of the beaches of Malaysia were dug by the closest relatives of soldier crabs - scopimera. Each individual, pushing sand out of its home, rolls it into a neat ball. The crab droppings have the same shape when they eat the soil.

Crabs have practically no food specialization; they are all omnivores to one degree or another. These animals can eat the bacterial film covering stones, algae, fallen leaves and flowers, bivalves, polychaete worms, starfish, small crustaceans and even octopuses. Like crayfish, crabs readily feast on carrion. Species living in shallow water happily “snack” the soil on regular food. By passing sludge through their intestines, they assimilate the microorganisms contained in it. Crabs not only grab large prey, but cut it up like real gourmets. At the same time, they use their claws like a knife and fork: they hold the prey with one, and cut off neat pieces with the other.

A grass crab (Carcinus maenas) is about to dine on a bivalve.

Reproduction in crabs has a pronounced seasonal character; different types it is dedicated to one or another natural phenomena(rainy season, highest tides). For example, Christmas Island red crabs (Gecarcoidea natalis) live on land away from the shore, but move to the surf line to lay eggs. Their migration is one of the most ambitious phenomena in nature.

Millions of individuals rush towards their goal like a living river, overcoming roads, ditches and other obstacles along the way.

At this time, crabs die en masse under the wheels of vehicles and under the feet of people who are tired of avoiding countless travelers.

To prevent the crabs from dying, Christmas Island is creating barriers along roads to divert migrants away from dangerous routes.

Pay attention to the insects in the frame. These are yellow crazy ants brought to the island by people. They turned out to be a very aggressive and prolific species and have already destroyed 1/3 of the crab population - 20 million individuals!

No less interesting are the mating battles of beckoning crabs. With their hypertrophied signal claw, they threaten their opponents and even fencing with it in a collision. Then they signal the female with waving movements, as if declaring their victory. Such emphasized ritualism has led to the fact that in many species there is a very noticeable difference between males and females (sexual dimorphism).

Duel of beckoning crabs.

Before mating, the couple sometimes takes a “face to face” position and can remain in this position for several days. Interestingly, one mating is enough for a female to lay fertilized eggs throughout her life. This is explained by the fact that the male presents her with sperm packed in special bags - spermatophores. In them, germ cells remain viable for many years During the next season, the female dissolves the spermatophore membrane with special secretions and fertilization occurs again. The fertility of crabs is very high and amounts to tens of thousands and millions of eggs. The female carries them on her abdominal legs from a couple of weeks to several months. The hatched larvae begin to swim freely.

Swimming crab larva.

After several molts, they turn into young crabs, which settle in the biotopes characteristic of a particular species. The lifespan of these crustaceans ranges from 3-7 years for small species to 50-70 years for the huge spider crab.

Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi).

Due to their great diversity and abundance, crabs have many enemies. Fish, octopuses, crocodiles, starfish, seagulls and practically everything make attempts on their lives. beasts of prey wandering onto the coast. Crayfish raccoons generally specialize in collecting crabs on the shore. Such intense interest on the part of carnivores has forced these crustaceans to develop a variety of defense mechanisms. The simplest of them is camouflage. This is achieved in some cases by coloring, which very accurately reproduces the color and even the pattern of the substrate on which the species is found.

The caramel crab (Hoplophrys oatesii) imitates the dendronephthia coral on which it lives in color and shape.

In other cases, surrounding objects are used for cover. For example, shy crabs cover themselves with a shell-shield, decorator crabs cut out pieces of bryozoans and hydroids with their claws and place them on their backs, gluing them together with special secretions. On the crab's back, these colonial animals continue to develop and transform its shell into a flower bed.

It is difficult to recognize the perfectly camouflaged decorator crab (Camposcia retusa) in this crawling bush.

The Dromia crab looks for a sponge and, like a real seamstress, cuts a piece out of it exactly to the size of its back.

The Dromia erythropus crab resembles an old woman in a beret. Since its body is quite fleshy, the dromia has to look for a flap with a curve that perfectly follows the convexities of its shell.

If disguise does not help, active methods of defense are used. Large crabs take a fighting stance and raise their claws up. If the offender does not understand the hint, they use their wire cutters and are capable of inflicting deep cuts. Boxer crabs always hold sea anemones in their claws, the stinging cells of which are dangerous even for relatively large animals.

A female boxer crab (Lybia tessellata) in a fighting stance with sea anemones. A clutch of eggs is visible on the abdomen of this individual.

Many species are capable of autotomy (self-amputation). When it sees an enemy, the crab throws its leg away by contracting special muscles. In this case, the valves at the tear site immediately close the wound and stop the bleeding. If such a handout was not enough, the victim offers the predator the next limb. Severed legs grow back after several molts.