Great Land Crab

• reproducciónIt spends most of its adult life on land, away from the sea, though it has to return to salt water periodically to release its eggs.
• It grows very slowly: it needs more than sixty moults to reach full size, some three times as many as other crabs, and that is why it lives longer than most land crabs.
• Six to ten days before moulting it seals the burrow entrance with mud to protect itself while it is soft.
• The bottom of the burrow holds a pool of water, and the air inside has very high concentrations of carbon dioxide.
• It feeds mainly on mangrove leaves and fruit, but also on carrion, and is said to turn cannibal.
• It is an important food in the Caribbean and is overexploited: Puerto Rico has brought in strict rules and Florida has considered doing the same.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - articulated calcareous exoskeleton (crustacean)

Habitat and environment

Estuaries, mangroves and riverbanks of the American Atlantic, always within eight kilometres of the coast; it digs burrows almost two metres deep with a pool of water at the bottom

Litter / clutch size

The laying season runs from June to December in Florida, peaking in October and November

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardisoma_guanhumi