Japanese Spider Crabs at the Sydney Aquarium

The Japanese Spider Crab’s scientific name is Macrocheira kaempferi but, surely, a more fitting moniker would be Crabzilla. Up to 3.8 metres in length, claw to claw – all the better to hold you with, dear – it has the greatest leg span of any arthropod. Its body alone can grow up to around 40cm and the beastie can end up weighing up to a whopping 19 kilograms.
 
But don’t fret. You’re not likely to fall prey to the ninja pinch of the Japanese Spider Crab the next time you go swimming. Unless, that is, you’re swimming off the southern coasts of the Pacific Ocean near Honshu, Japan, at depths of 50 to 800 metres, where these nippers tend to hang out. It’s said to be the most deep-living species of crab in the world.
 
You can, however, check out a couple of fine specimens in Sydney. Miso and Saki, two Japanese Spider Crabs direct from Japan, are the latest additions to the family at the Sydney Aquarium, part of its new and ongoing Claws exhibition. At around three to five years old, they’re practically babies – they can live to up to over 100 years – and their legspan, for the time being at least, is closer to two metres in length.
 
The Aquarium has to adhere to strict Japanese quarantine regulations in recreating the appropriate underwater conditions for Miso and Saki – Darling Harbour is a long, long scuttle from home – but aquarist Marty Garwood tells Time Out that the duo is very easy to please, diet-wise anyway. “At this point I’m thinking they are pretty much happy to eat anything. Sea urchins, mussels in their shells, oysters.”
 
They’re also a big hit with children visitors. “Part of the attraction is how they’re put together – they’re like machines. Totally like some kind of alien that you would see in a book or a movie.”
 
Japanese Spider Crabs Sydney Aquarium, Aquarium Pier, Darling Harbour 2000. Mon-Sun 9am-8pm. $14-$35

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