August 26, 2021: Feasting Crab
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Windows to the Deep 2019. Download larger version (jpg, 1.5 MB).
During a Windows to the Deep 2019 dive to explore a small canyon off the coast of North Carolina at 920 meters (3,018 feet) depth, we came upon a Chaceon crab perched above a white patch on the seafloor. A closer look revealed the patch to be a cluster of hundreds of eggs, proposed to have been deposited on the rock by a pallid sculpin. As we watched, the crab plucked eggs from the pile with its major chelipeds (clawed legs) and ate them. Furthermore, we observed dozens of amphipods (distant crustacean relatives of the crab) clinging to and crawling over the crab’s mouthparts. For the full story, check out this mission log.