A coconut crab (Birgus latro) was captured on a Hawaiian island. The 3-feet-long hermet crab is considered an illegal invasive species, according to Science, Space and Robots.
The crab was caught by a resident of Oahu and put in a cardboard box. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) said the crab weighed three pounds and was 16 inches long.
KHON2 reported that the captive arthropod was 4.8 pounds, which is larger than HDOA's data.
According to HDOA, this is the first time a coconut crab has been spotted in Hawaii since 1989.
Professor at Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology at University of Hawaii Ron Toonen said the trash can-sized crabs can rip things apart, according to Science, Space and Robots.
"Three feet is as big as a trash can. Literally, as big as a trash can," Toonen told KHON2. "That's why people are worried about it having it show up here. A crab that big can do damage if it's wandering around trying to find things to eat."
"They'll raid people's trash cans. Eat native birds. Eat juvenile plants. And tear up the landscape if they're here," Toonen told KHON2. "They grab a hold of things. Can rip them open. Can bust open a coconut. And the idea of that crawling around in their backyard is not going to be very pleasant to most people in Hawaii."
The origin of this particular crab is not known, but it is possible that someone had him as an illegal pet then released him or he escaped.
