Lulu and Nosegay from animal crossing!
theyre anteater villagers that havent appeared in many games.
Lulu was exclusive to Animal Forest e+, while nosegay was featured in AF, AF+, Animal Crossing, and AFe+
43 notes
·
View notes
Animal Crossing Fish - Expained #225
Brought to you by a marine biologist with our last crabby boy for now...
CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!
Today's animal will be our last crustacean for the time being. Above I said "crabby" but, as we learned last time we spoke about crabs, carcinization, and the hermit crab, not every crustacean with a stout body and pinchers is a true crab, the InfraOrder Brachyura. That's right, marine biologists gatekeep crustaceans. Just one of those benefits. So, today's animal is, instead, the largest member of the InfraOrder Anomura, the hermit crabs. It's the infamous Coconut Crab!
I really wish this one was still in the games, especially ACNH. Would be cool as hell while you're scouring your island, you happen across this thing that would be larger than the tarantula, looks like it also, but way less agro. Unfortunately, it only appears in Animal Forest e+ late at night in coconut trees without fruit during the summer months. That is extremely on-brand for the coconut crab, and I appreciate it.
The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is the largest hermit crab in the world, and also the largest terrestrial arthropod as well. Crustaceans just beat every other arthropod in the size department no matter what, it seems. They are native to various Indo-Pacific island chains, including some archipelagoes belonging to Japan, Micronesia, Seychelles, etc etc. Hilariously, they have the densest population on Christmas Island, where they are outnumbered 50 to 1 by the Christmas Island red crab (which we suspected was Animal Forest e+'s other exclusive Crab). The distribution of coconut crabs also seems to follow the same pattern of the Coconut Palm and I just love how Animal Forest e+ brought these three species together, as they are in real life. They also come in various color morphs - looks like Animal Crossing decided to go with the blue variety.
By Brocken Inaglory - English wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3238751
Unlike most crustaceans we have covered who live out their lives on the ocean bottom, the coconut crab, and its terrestrial hermit brethren in Coenobitidae, lives a completely terrestrial life. In fact, if it spends too much time underwater, it will drown! That's because they have an important adaptation to living on land, and that is a lung-like gill-like organ called the branchiostegal lung. Plenty of other terrestrial crustaceans have this organ, allowing them to live on land. However, just like amphibians, the coconut crab needs to return to the sea to hatch their eggs. As larvae, they live amongst the plankton like any other crab does, molting and morphing into an adult that eventually lands on a new beach and begins its land-lubbing life.
Unlike other hermit crabs that famously make a home of discarded shells, the coconut crab, as a large adult, doesn't. Its back end hardens so that it's no longer vulnerable. And good thing, because as the largest invertebrate on land, it would have a hell of a time finding a big enough shell to put its behind in.
I think coconut crabs really got their fame from their immense size. Like I said above, this is THE largest arthropod living on land. It literally beats insects and spiders on their own turf. Some of the largest individuals' leg spans reach 3 ft (~1m). Below is probably one of the most popularized photos of a coconut crab, usually followed by some ignorant comment about "nightmare fuel". It does an excellent job showing how goddamn big they are.
At this size, it only has humans and other, bigger coconut crabs to worry about. Despite the size, there's no danger posed by the coconut crab to people. Though it's an omnivore, its diet is mostly made up of plant material, like fruits, nuts, and, on special occasions, coconuts. Those big claws help it get through its environment and get into the husks of coconuts, among other things, like trash cans.
And there you have it. Fascinating stuff, no?
28 notes
·
View notes