How big would a crab or lobster need to be in order to be a genuine threat to an adult human? Do they ever actually get that size? (I’m doubting it, but I’m willing to be educated otherwise…)
Crabs and Lobsters don’t attack people… even really big ones. While their claws can be quite powerful, I doubt they could sever a limb, even if they were inclined to do so.
Having an exoskeleton limits their size; why we don’t see giant tarantulas anywhere but Syfy.
There is speculation Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were eaten alive by cocoanut crabs.
http://creepyanimals.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/coconut-crab.jpg
If so, they were dying anyway and could not fend for themselves properly. But the crabs are certainly big enough to be considered “a threat”, if not a real serious one. Imagine waking up with one of those things clamped to your nose…
And of course there are Stephen King’s ‘lobstrosities’. “Dad-a-chum? Dum-a-chum? Ded-a-chek? Did-a-chick?”
Depends. Are you a guy? Are you skinny dipping?
According to Steven Adler of Guns N Roses, the crabs don’t need to be very big at all.
How big are we talking? This crab isn’t going to menace Tokyo but he’s bigger than any tarantula.
Wow. I’ve seen the pic of the coconut crab before but not what you posted.
Someone start melting a bucket of butter!
When I was a boy, and used to play at the seaside, I got painfully pinched by crabs many times (and no, I wasn’t trying to torture them or anything). Of course, they were only little ones, and couldn’t harm me much.
Ewww, those things give me the willies.
If Earhart and Noonan were on land somewhere to be eaten by coconut crabs, couldn’t they have gotten some sustenance by eating the crabs? Fresh water may have been a bigger problem than food, but it seems odd to be eaten by something that would normally be your dinner.
If they did end up on Gardner Island, I am sure crabs were initially on the menu. But then dehydration set in, and the situation was reversed. The lovely web of life…
If it helps, you could probably outrun them on a pair of broken legs. They’re not exactly cheetahs.
In the distant past arthropods could be much larger. I don’t know if any of the giant water scorpions could have killed a human or would be inclined to do so, but they’d definitely be high grade nightmare fuel. Do a Google image search for Eurypterids if you don’t feel like sleeping. Jaekelopterus was estimated to be 2.5 meters long. :eek:
Well, they’re in the South Pacific somewhere, and I’m in Boston, and they still give me the willies, so outrunning them is not really a great comfort.
Similarly, if it helps, they’re called coconut crabs because they can climb trees to fetch coconuts. They’re also called “robber crabs” because they’re known to climb through people’s open windows, and take objects from inside. So, if you lived on an island with these, it’s entirely possible you are woken in the night by a coconut crab that’s crawled into your home and on to your bed.
Wait…that probably doesn’t help at all.
In my youth I cooked in an upscale seafood restaurant. Our lobsters came 25 (IIRC) to a styrofoam bin. The invertebrates had their claws banded with rubber bands. But in every box, there’d be one claw missing its band, and things were too rushed to be cautious. Ouch.
About six feet, as a guess.
A couple of years ago a 27-pound lobster was caught. It’s believed that its claws could break a man’s arm.
And that’s not even the biggest one ever caught; according to the article, that title goes to a 44-pounder caught back in 1977.
Thanks for the replies. Sometimes I enjoy thinking abut creatures that have us on the menu, and then the other day, crabs were on my mind, so I decided to post the question. I always enjoy getting educated by the fun folks on the SDMB!