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Crusty Crab Stands Out in the Crowd

It was hard to tell which spider crab was which when a huge group of the clawed crustaceans gathered in a large cluster near Blairgowrie Pier, in Victoria, Australia, on January 22.

However, it was one crab that caught the eye of diver Jules Casey, who captured this video.

Looking ‘crab’-ulous in a puffy brown ‘jacket’ of algae build-up and the odd seashell, the lumpy spider crab certainly stood out from the mass of orange shells and spindly pincers, much to the amusement of the divers.

“How to stand out in a crowd….be an individual,” Casey said.

Spider crabs are known for gathering seaweed and algae on their shells to help them camouflage. When they’re ready to shed their outer layers, the crabs can become vulnerable to predators and so cluster together for safety in numbers, scientists say. Credit: Jules Casey via Storyful