Cute baby crabs are making a rare public appearance after sneaking into Manchester Sea Life Centre hidden in a bag of mussels.
The tiny edible crab and shore crab – christened Eddie and Sean – both about the size of a 50 pence piece, must have been scooped up accidentally as they hid among the shellfish to avoid larger predators.
“They are both very young and very vulnerable to predation by larger crabs, fish and seabirds, so they tend to stay really well hidden at this size,” said Sea Life marine expert Andy Hill.
“Shore crabs are probably our most common native crab and don’t grow much bigger than a hand’s width, but to see such a small edible crab is a real novelty.
“They are the species most often served in seafood restaurants, and can be big enough to more than fill a dinner plate.”
Eddie and Sean have been given their own exclusive mini-rockpool in the Sea Life Centre’s supervised touch-pool exhibit, where they are gaining quite a fan club.
Sean must be literally a couple of months old, as shore crabs spend their first three years drifting in larval form before becoming crabs and reaching full size in about a year. Eddie on the other hand, may be a year or two older.
Photo Credit: Warren Smith
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