Kalappa: a crab in very heavy armor (8 photos)

Just look at its armor, it's excellent even by the standards of other crabs! The thick and strong shell bends downwards on the sides and protects the legs, which themselves are perfectly armored, by the way. Thanks to this structure of the carapace, the crab can take an excellent defensive pose.





But there is, however, one nuance: female crabs do not wear beautiful dresses, but exactly the same armor. The desire to survive is more important to them than the desire to be beautiful.

If he presses his claws and walking legs to himself, he will turn into a 15-centimeter oval armored cookie with almost no gaps in the armor! Well, isn't he a knight?



Taking a defensive position, the crab amusingly clasps its claws.

But to be a knight, armor alone is not enough. No one calls armadillos and pangolins knights, right? A noble warrior must also behave accordingly. That's why males arrange beautiful fights for females.





Tanks are not afraid of silt.

The battle for the lady of the heart occurs as follows. When the female craves attention and passion, she secretes pheromones, to which 2 males come at night. They arrange a beautiful bloodless fight, during which one crab drives away the other. Then he gently embraces the female and carries her in his arms for several days. In nature, it is difficult to find something more noble, more beautiful and graceful. If you forget about the nuances, of course.



When I remembered that my mother asked me to turn off the stove in 5 minutes, but 1.5 hours had already passed.

Nobility and beauty will instantly evaporate if more than 2 crabs come to the aroma of pheromones. In this case, a beautiful tournament will instantly turn into a classic public brawl. Or even into a chase for a thief crab who decided to steal the main prize on the sly. And the knights run surprisingly fast for their size.



Kalapp has a huge variety of colors. Every knight wants to stand out from the rest! Just like medieval coats of arms on shields and posters.

And the most unpleasant thing is that the female is perceived by males only as a prize, not even as a living creature. No one asks her opinion, and she herself is not able to resist. The fact is that the female secretes pheromones 3-5 days before molting. At this time, she is greatly weakened and almost unable to move independently - heavy armor and is difficult to remove.



— Darling, I won't let anyone hurt you! — Hey, who the hell are you?!

Well, the males carry the females in their arms, of course, not because of romantic impulses. This is how they protect their prey from other suitors and wait until the female starts to molt. After all, the shell of these crabs is designed in such a way that the male can fertilize the eggs only during the molt of the females. So the knights fuss: they steal girls, arrange duels and small wars in the style of all-against-all.



The moment of truth. The female molts and the male can finally mate with her.

In general, everything is really like the Middle Ages for the crab knights, only in real life, not idealistically romantic. Noble fights and beautiful armor coexist with vices and cruelty. But it's epic.



Ready for the crusade!