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🧬 Biological Classification (Kingdom to Species)Macrocheira kaempferi

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Malacostraca

Order

Decapoda

Family

Macrocheiridae

Genus

Macrocheira

Species

Macrocheira kaempferi

Malacostraca🍂 Omnivore

Japanese spider crab

Macrocheira kaempferi (Japanese spider crab · タカアシガニ)

🛡️ Conservation Status (IUCN Red List)NE (Not Evaluated)

Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.

Geological Era

Extant

Diet

Omnivore

Length · Height

3.7m · No data

Mass · Top Speed

16~20kg · No data

Habitat & Fossil Locality

Continental shelf and slope of the Northwest Pacific off Japan and Taiwan, on sandy and rocky bottoms at depths of 50–600 m

💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed

💡 A maximum leg span of 3.7 m is slightly shorter than the length of a passenger car (about 4.5 m), and a maximum weight of 20 kg is similar to a 20 kg bag of rice (Comparison).
💡 Animal Diversity Web explains that in Japan this crab is eaten both raw and cooked as a delicacy, and that its gentle temperament makes it popular in aquariums.

Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.

📊 Mass & Speed Index (0–100)

⚖️ Mass Index (Blue Whale ~190 t = 100, log scale)51

Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.

#일본거미게#Macrocheira kaempferi

📖 1. Overview

The Japanese spider crab is a crab known as the largest living arthropod today, inhabiting the deep sea floor off Japan and Taiwan.

🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology

Its pear-shaped carapace is only about 37 cm long, but when its claw-bearing legs are stretched wide, its span reaches nearly 4 m. The carapace is dark orange to light brown, covered with blunt tubercles, and it cannot change its body color.

🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior

It is an omnivorous scavenger that crawls along the bottom picking at dead animals and plants, occasionally eating algae or catching easy small invertebrates. It cannot swim, mates in early spring (January–March), and females lay up to 1.5 million eggs per season.