Unknown Mystery Creatures Washing Ashore in Hawaii by the Millions

Hmmmm, millions of purple crabs in their larvae stage? That's one big huge purple mama-crab who gave birth then.

Even if these turn out to be just crabs, why did they wash ashore? I always felt Hawaiians are very aware of their surroundings when dealing with nature and this doesn't appear to be a common occurrence.

Ever since those animal die-offs last year, this planet feels foreign to me. It's as if 'strange' is the new 'norm' now.
I don't know anymore.

PS. I performed a search and did not find this posted

The south shore of Oahu is being invaded by something strange from sea, that even has sand crabs running for cover.

"It's the first time I've seen this, I've never seen it before," says beach goer Bruce Kuwana.
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Even the biologists at the Waikiki Aquarium are scratching their heads. They've been getting reports of the pea-sized crabs from Kahala to Ala Moana, all this week.
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Waikiki Aquarium officials are saving some, hoping to keep them alive long enough to see how they grow.

"There's a lot of things we don't know about the ocean so any opportunity like this is a great learning experience," says Chan.

At this point it's still unknown where these crabs came from, how big they'll get and what they eat.

www.khon2.com...

reply to post by Human_Alien


Strange that it is coming from the south, this would mean they would have had to beach themselves in a sense.

As I am aware Hawaii gets hit by big northerly that come down from Russia, which was my first guess as to what direction they came from until I read 'south beach'.
It is still possible that they come from the north and circle around tho.

Originally posted by HumanCondition
reply to post by Human_Alien

 

Strange that it is coming from the south, this would mean they would have had to beach themselves in a sense.

As I am aware Hawaii gets hit by big northerly that come down from Russia, which was my first guess as to what direction they came from until I read 'south beach'.
It is still possible that they come from the north and circle around tho.

Don't southerly-exposed beaches produce tides and waves?
Not sure why you're saying what you're saying but I understand the general gist. But if you can explain it a bit more, I'd be more than grateful. Thanks

There is an update on the mystery creatures.

Marine biologists at the Waikiki Aquarium tell us they believe they're 7-11 crabs, which are actually common in Hawaiian waters

Update on mystery creatures

A 7-11 crab, it looks kind of purple to me, even though they use other colors to describe it.

Link

Fukushima crabs.

reply to post by PacificBlue
They are Robber crabs or Coconut crabs. Very common yet this isn't common! Great to eat once they are big.

Originally posted by PacificBlue
There is an update on the mystery creatures.

Marine biologists at the Waikiki Aquarium tell us they believe they're 7-11 crabs, which are actually common in Hawaiian waters

Update on mystery creatures

A 7-11 crab, it is purple.

Link

edit on 16-7-2012 by PacificBlue because: add link

I love it. They think they know but they have to wait until they get bigger. What kind of 'update' is that?
They also go on to say this is 'actually common'.
I tell you what...I'll believe a native Hawaiian surfer before I do the media with their constant damage-control (or ratings-inspired) articles.

Originally posted by SUPERMASON
reply to post by PacificBlue

 

They are Robber crabs or Coconut crabs. Very common yet this isn't common! Great to eat once they are big.

Sardines and black birds are common too except when millions wash up or drop out of the sky!
But this too will go on the back burner until something freakier comes along.

these crabs are in the larvae stage? and already climbimg on surf boards..

just wait till they get full grown.

Originally posted by Ear-Responsible
Fukushima crabs.

Don't think that didn't cross my mind

Originally posted by ANNED
these crabs are in the larvae stage? and already climbimg on surf boards..

just wait till they get full grown.

Yeah, I wasn't sure if that was an exaggeration on the surfers part or an avoidance on the media's part.
I take the surfers side.

Originally posted by Human_Alien

I love it. They think they know but they have to wait until they get bigger. What kind of 'update' is that?
They also go on to say this is 'actually common'.

I agree, as it did not take long for them to change from mystery creatures to common. And why would marine biologists have to wait and see, are we supposed to believe they have never seen a young crab before.

reply to post by Ear-Responsible


Thats what I was thinking!

reply to post by Human_Alien


First, I would say don't worry about feeling as though the planet is strange to you. There are many reasons why all these little things are happening...
1. We are more connected now than ever before, what would have been a local legend fifty years ago spreads around the world within hours. Strange things have always happened, there was just never such a big audience before.
2. There is no doubt that environmental changes are altering things, but this is evolution - whether we are responsible or not. These could have arrived on an altered current from a spawning site for a species we haven't really seen that much of before.
3. Interest in a story drives the corporate media. They lie all the time, the exaggerate, they fabricate and they obscure the truth, all for ratings and profit. Notice she said "no one we spoke to knew what they were"? Perhaps they deliberately only spoke to the pool cleaners or security and decided not to go and talk to the 80 year old professor of biology because they feared he'd destroy the mystery?

It's an interesting story, and being an aquatics hobbyist I would be setting up a tank to see if I could raise a few of these to adulthood too. I would love to see what they turn out to be.

And of course, we should remember that you can find a new species in your own garden if you study a single square foot for a few weeks or months. The oceans are nowhere near as explored as land, which means there are potentially millions of unknown species out there waiting to be discovered.

reply to post by PacificBlue

I agree, as it did not take long for them to change from mystery creatures to common.

He can't find a specific name for the animal - all he knows is they are some type of crab still in the larvae stage.

"What you are seeing is a swimming stage probably a few more molts before they settle into their actual crab stage itself," says Chan.

www.khon2.com...

The biologists knew they were some sort of crab larvae. At that stage they look sort of alike. It's probably because of the spots that they think they may be 7-11s.

7-11 crabs mostly inhabit shallow reef areas. Seeing so many on shore may have something to do with the south swells which have been coming through. Stirred things up.

Good eating when they get bigger. Might be good for fishing too, lots of chum swimming around.

Wow, look at the speed of these crabs while smimming at 1:20 in the video!

I have no idea what kind of crabs they are. But crabs flooding the shore in millions is not uncommon.
Then again the one that flood the shore are nomally the hybrids which can live in the sea and on land, while these seem to die on the shore.

The sea has still so many secrets to discover.
Let s hope it s not some fukushima crap, ahhm.. crab.