Monday Movie: Pom Pom Crab (Lybia tessellata)

My perfect way to start the week would be a dive, but if I can't get in a dive, the next best thing is to enjoy a dive "virtually" (not nearly the same, but better than nothing!) So until I can go diving again on Monday mornings, I think I'll bring a dive video featuring some invertebrate, or invert community.

First up is the Pom Pom or Boxing Crab, Lybia sp., which carry around a pair of anemones (generally of Bunodeopsis or Triactis genuses) in their chelipeds. They use the anemone as a self defense weapon. Popular in marine aquariums, in the wild these crabs are found throughout the Indo-Pacific region, including a recently (2006) discovered species from French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Unfortunately br

This particular video was taken in Bunaken Marine Park, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, making the crab Lybia tessellata.