THE unexpected depositing of millions of small crabs on a Phuket beach last week was a natural event that had nothing to do with water quality or a tsunami portent, Phuket Marine Biological Centre director Dr Wannakiat Tubtimsang said today.
Puzzled locals said it was the first time they had seen the creatures washed ashore in such numbers. Some thought they could be mini-lobsters.
Far from blanketing Karon beach, the small crabs, about the size of black ants, stretched in a bulky line along the high water mark.
Dr Wannakiat said examination of samples had shown they were from the Portunidae family, which contains many types of coastal swimming crabs.
A distinctive feature is that the crabs have a pair of nippers, six legs and two rear paddle-like appendages.
Large adult females could each produce 100,000 to 200,000 offspring, Dr Wannakiat said.
The likelihood is that a group of females discharged their offspring in the wrong place at the wrong time, resulting in the Karon crab calamity, he said.
November Start Set for Phuket Airport MakeoverPuzzled locals said it was the first time they had seen the creatures washed ashore in such numbers. Some thought they could be mini-lobsters.
Far from blanketing Karon beach, the small crabs, about the size of black ants, stretched in a bulky line along the high water mark.
Dr Wannakiat said examination of samples had shown they were from the Portunidae family, which contains many types of coastal swimming crabs.
A distinctive feature is that the crabs have a pair of nippers, six legs and two rear paddle-like appendages.
Large adult females could each produce 100,000 to 200,000 offspring, Dr Wannakiat said.
The likelihood is that a group of females discharged their offspring in the wrong place at the wrong time, resulting in the Karon crab calamity, he said.
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