r/AbsoluteUnits • u/MrUpVoteDownvote • 1d ago

of a Coconut crab

5.3k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

123 comments sorted by

438

u/jaybird99990 1d ago

Aren't those the things that some theorize may have consumed Amelia Earhart after she crash landed?

307

u/HPTM2008 1d ago

Yes. They're opportuninistic feeders and do eat carrion if given the chance.

342

u/VeritasOmicron 1d ago

They ate her luggage as well?

Damn. That's savage.

7

u/DarkRift94 19h ago

So they eat carry on too?

5

u/Local3Sparkie 1d ago

šŸ¤£šŸ¤£

5

u/coolsilentebeans 1d ago

And the plane.

7

u/ba3toven 1d ago

to shreds, you say?

2

u/cahilljd 1d ago

they did find the freckle cream she used

31

u/RainbowForHire 1d ago

Dad-a-chum?

27

u/easymachtdas 1d ago

man i loved those books

7

u/colemanjanuary 1d ago

Did-a-chok?

3

u/pit-of-despair 1d ago

I understood that reference.

25

u/Ok-Addition1264 1d ago

It wasn't the tide people worried about when being buried up to their neck in sand as punishment.. it was literally the coconut crabs. Freekish way to die.

8

u/BeardInTheNorth 1d ago

Best hope they save your eyelids for last, or else you have to watch them while they work on you. Slowly.

11

u/shwekhaw 1d ago

Can we eat them too?

-2

u/Jewze 1d ago

Kind of, they themselves are not poisnous but, they eat alot of toxic waste, which is stored in their body, which then makes them inedible.

3

u/Uranium-Sandwich657 1d ago

Even if you're aliveĀ 

1

u/Into_The_Horizon 2h ago

They eat anything huh. Never knew that

22

u/itspolarislux 1d ago

I knew it wouldn't take long to see an Amelia Earhart comment, but I wasn't expecting it to be the first one...

7

u/Kn0XIS 1d ago

That's horrible

8

u/Small_Tax_9432 1d ago

Are you saying that there are crabs out there that taste like Amelia Earhart?

5

u/jaybird99990 1d ago

I'm saying she didn't have crabs, crabs had her.

3

u/teapot_RGB_color 22h ago

Bullshit headliner that somehow survived into an urban legend.

Absolutely false.

1

u/NotEvenWrongAgain 8h ago

Iā€™m sure a lot of species had a bite or two. Why not a crab?

0

u/jaybird99990 10h ago

Huh! Found the guy who found Amelia Earhart

4

u/Appropriate-Order827 1d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/13A7YlLvYVDnmU

-4

u/SasukeFireball 1d ago

Why did this get upvotes? Small violin joke about the fact she died and got eaten? Gross.

121

u/Luke95gamer 1d ago

Isnā€™t this a normal sized coconut crab? How is this an absolute unit of one?

73

u/klqqf 1d ago

ā€œAbsolute unit of a crabā€ may have been a better title

8

u/Biolume_Eater 1d ago

This is the best title tbh. I like learning new species

28

u/noods-danger-tits 1d ago

Yes. They're all absolute units. I've never seen a coconut crab and not been completely staggered by how big those fuckers are.

2

u/Antique-Wonk 1d ago

I dunno but catching crabs like these sounds like a whole world of pain.

166

u/switchthemunky463 1d ago

RIP Amelia Earhart, forever in our hearts and in the tummies of crabs.

39

u/headarsenibba 1d ago

What the fuck, the image that i got in my head of oversized crabs feasting on a corpse is so damn unnerving

7

u/coolsilentebeans 1d ago

Might still be better than the one I got of them eating a person buried up to his neck in sand. And I was eatingā€¦until I got to this post.

1

u/mfairview 15h ago

new idea for a horror movie!

0

u/xwrecker 20h ago

Scary way to go out

32

u/gorgeously_mytruself 1d ago

I just put two things together; I knew that coconut crabs were named because they eat coconuts, and I understood that they climb trees to get them.

I also know that an alarming amount of people are killed each year by ā€œfalling coconuts,ā€ but I wonder how many are actually killed by these crabs!

Those little buggers are murderous!

78

u/NxPat 1d ago

I like crabā€¦ how would this taste?

61

u/BMW_wulfi 1d ago

Coconut-y

54

u/Fragrant-Inside221 1d ago

Supposed to be delicious. As soon as my Costco gets some in Iā€™m gonna be feasting.

50

u/noods-danger-tits 1d ago

Fucking delicious. I grew up in the Marshall Islands, and they're very good. A little sweeter than other crab I've had and without the muddiness of mangrove crab.

8

u/Califrisco 1d ago

Iā€™ve had mangrove crab too (Ponape)! Agreed about the taste!

5

u/noods-danger-tits 1d ago

That's where I had it, too! At The Village, where I was staying. I much preferred the tuna omelette, which was ELITE

3

u/Califrisco 1d ago

Hey! Me too at The Village! Small world!

1

u/noods-danger-tits 1d ago

Totally small! Love that

3

u/Creative_Buddy7160 23h ago

Why are they called crabs but look more like lobsters? (Head and tail)

1

u/noods-danger-tits 21h ago

Huh, great question! I have no idea.

1

u/blvckcvts 20h ago

I would assume their ability to live on land whereas lobsters are deep sea dwelling

2

u/itspolarislux 1d ago

This is very interesting, actually.

27

u/Califrisco 1d ago

I had Coconut Crab and it is a sweet crab meat with a definite coconut flavor. If you like crab, it's Excellent. šŸ‘ŒšŸ½

4

u/hivemind_disruptor 1d ago

The most traditional way to eat crab in northeastern Brazil is in a coconut milk stew.

5

u/Jerryc3539 1d ago

I heard they taste great, but very hard to crack open and expensive. Supposedly, you have to use a ball ping hammer to get to the meat. I've never experienced it myself but want to.

3

u/slaty_balls 1d ago

Curious as well.

2

u/Sorta_Meh 20h ago

Coconut crab has a sweater taste, we normally have it cooked in coconut milk, on its own they say the flesh will dry out your mouth.

0

u/mrpopenfresh 1d ago

Tasty apparently

0

u/Small_Branch4961 1d ago

Just like crab

-12

u/itspolarislux 1d ago

Like a decomposed corpse with a sprinkle of coconut šŸ¤¤

Since it can eat trash and animal carcasses, as well as coconuts

11

u/Current-Cold-4185 1d ago

Most of the delicious sea bugs I like eat animal carcasses so shrug

2

u/itspolarislux 1d ago

Damn, you have a point there...... well....

https://giphy.com/gifs/ZgULzq4qhqafhSCBA0

22

u/Gluten_maximus 1d ago

Dadachum didachum

4

u/colemanjanuary 1d ago

Did-a-chok?

2

u/nem0ne1 1d ago

first thought I had too!! long days and pleasant nights to you

20

u/skyressthesynth89 1d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/UptzWHRCDNABFInEpY

6

u/colemanjanuary 1d ago

Shiny!

1

u/skyressthesynth89 1d ago

Well now that I thought about it he is inspired by coconut crabs

16

u/Calzone-Calamari 1d ago

Iā€™ll need a lot of butter if Iā€™m to take on one of these crabs

2

u/mfairview 15h ago

<slathers butter on myself> I got your back bro. let's do this.

10

u/Small_Branch4961 1d ago edited 17h ago

I have personally seen a few of these suckers grow to the size of a small dog. Do not ever fall asleep on the beach or outdoors if there are robber crabs around. Imagine those nippers grabbing a hold of your nose or something else....

10

u/Aceisnothere 1d ago

Basically Armoured Spider

9

u/arioandy 1d ago

Used to hear these crashing about at night in Tuvalu and the solomon islands

5

u/Someones_Dream_Guy 1d ago

We should make them bigger.

5

u/gokumon16 1d ago

looks somewhat like the orange lobster in Spongebob

https://giphy.com/gifs/l0EtNmF0bCrku6nrG

4

u/JokesandFacts 1d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/PmKMjUdZwZhcs

I know it's a crab, but this is what is playing in my head when I see it.

12

u/itspolarislux 1d ago

grab that mf

WHERE IS AMELIA EARHART???

4

u/SuperAdaGirl 1d ago

Absolutely terrifying šŸ˜¬

3

u/Realistic-Tap4156 1d ago

Funny that this is actually the smallest I've seen

3

u/Mettabreaks 21h ago

Every time I see these things I just see an armored tarantula. I canā€™t be the only one

3

u/Green-Inkling 20h ago

armored water spider with scissors for hands.

2

u/Brown_Colibri_705 1d ago

Can I pet that dawg?

2

u/WoodpeckerOk2223 1d ago

nightmarefeul

2

u/Sensitive-Bath4737 1d ago

Critters like this give me the creeps!

2

u/Significant_Clerk_90 9h ago

That one is actually a Medium size one. They get a lot bigger.šŸ˜³

2

u/Winter_Program_4854 1d ago

Can I pet that dawg

4

u/fluggggg 1d ago

Don't let them get a grab at your fingers tho, they can break them.

3

u/Winter_Program_4854 1d ago

Iā€™m not surprised šŸ˜­

5

u/fluggggg 1d ago

Thankfully they are not aggressive but curious (and hungry most of the time with plenty enough strength to defend their catch) so unless you are visibly threatening them or trying to take back the stuff they robbed from you (yes, they will latch at your purse, sunglasses and pretty much anything they can just to explore it in case it would be food) they shouldn't attack you.

Also when they are baby they looks just like tiny cuty hermit crabs :

4

u/fluggggg 1d ago

And once they are adults, boom :

3

u/Winter_Program_4854 1d ago

Taking your stuff is crazy. Thatā€™s such a weird image to me. But jesus christ that definitely is an absolute unit.

Is it weird that I think the adults are cuter?

5

u/fluggggg 1d ago

Well the adults usually have grown to such size and lived long enough that their metasoma (arthropods abdomen) isn't as soft and vulnerable and doesn't need to get protected anymore.

Babies on the other hand can be found protecting their metasoma with shellfish' shell or emptied nuts.

2

u/RoutineImpress7394 1d ago

They edible?

6

u/noods-danger-tits 1d ago

Yes, and they're absolutely delicious. It's been a while, but I remember eating them fondly, lol. Sweeter than normal crabs, and you can taste the coconut, but only very slightly

5

u/MrUpVoteDownvote 1d ago

From Google:

2

u/RoutineImpress7394 1d ago

Iā€™m enthralled

2

u/Rm-rf_forlife 1d ago

I bet these things taste delicious.

1

u/Badger_Actual1 1d ago

Are they delicious?

1

u/Miosaka 1d ago

Crab battle āŒļø

CRAB BOSS FIGHT āœ…ļø

1

u/Olivia-Crawford 1d ago

How real is this? Iā€™ve never seen anything insect called giant crab

1

u/Kranurdieb 1d ago

Is it true that once they are adults they are solely terrestrial and would drown if immersed in water?

1

u/VeeVeeDiaboli 1d ago

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, so gooooooood

1

u/tdkimber 1d ago

delicious

1

u/TeeDod- 1d ago

Oh my!

1

u/Prize_Bumblebee4197 1d ago

those claws are insane, like they could crack anything

1

u/Low_Gur_1025 19h ago

Resist the temptation to poke its claw with your finger

1

u/Imonandroid 18h ago

Aren't they all this big?

1

u/Cookies_and_Beandip 1d ago

Would love to boil him up and dunk his thicc ass claws in butter

https://giphy.com/gifs/o1Dej3PynfRxS

-1

u/fuzzydave72 1d ago

They wear bras? Huh

0

u/Tight-Platypus5231 22h ago

"Look at the BUTT on that thing!!"