Crabs and other invertebrates that molt start off fresh all shiny, with their colours bright and sparkling.
Here's the kelp crab hours after his molt:
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| Showing off his new coat. |
Now, a day later, he's back to the regulation dull olive green.
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| Side view. |
I put his old jacket under the microscope. Here are those hooks above his head, where he can hang bits of seaweed.
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| Curved hooks, two rows, alternating directions. |
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Los cangrejos y otros inverterbrados que mudan, empiezan de nuevo con todos sus colores vivos, brillantes.
Este es el cangrejo kelp unas cuantas horas después de la muda. Ahora, dos dias más tarde, ya se ha vuelto de su color típico, verde olivo.
La tercera foto es su caparazón viejo, visto bajo el microscopio, mostrando los ganchitos donde fija sus sombreros hechos de pedazos de alga. Hay dos hileras de ganchos, dispuestos cada uno apuntando en la direcc1ón opuesta al anterior.
I've seen larger sizes have a crimson colour on their shells, almost as if they stop trying to to camouflage because they are too big to be hunted.
ReplyDeleteI looked it up: there are a ton of photos of larger kelp crabs, definitely red.
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