Giant coconut crab captured on O‘ahu

This particular coconut crab is about 16 inches long from leg to leg, according to HDOA. (Photo : Hawaii Department of Agriculture.)

A nearly 5-pound coconut crab (Birgus latro) was captured scurrying along a busy Honolulu street, and the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) is hoping it arrived alone; the last time a coconut crab was found in Hawai‘i was in 1989. The coconut crab is a type of terrestrial hermit crab native to areas throughout the Indian and central Pacific Oceans. It’s an invasive species that could cause serious harm if there are more in the state. According to Rob Toonen, associate researcher at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), the crustaceans can grow up to three feet in length. “Three feet is as big as a trash can. Literally, as big as a trash can,” he said. “A crab that big can do damage if it’s wandering around trying to find things to eat.”

Read more about it and watch the video at KHON2, HNGN, and the Huffington Post; read more about it in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Customs Today, and Perfect Science.