BBC Wildlife Magazine

WHAT IS IT?

- Stuart Blackman

This long-limbed, golden-locked creature should surely be brachiatin­g its way through the canopy of the Sumatran jungle. But this is an orangutan in name only. It’s an orangutan crab, an inhabitant of the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific. It is commonly found in associatio­n with another enigmatic species, the bubble coral, which inflates its grape-like polyps during the day. This exposes a greater surface area to the sun’s rays to nourish the symbiotic algae that live within its tissues. It extends its stinging tentacles to feed at night. The crabcoral relationsh­ip may be symbiotic, too, or perhaps the crab just steals food ensnared by its host – no one really knows for sure.

 ??  ?? Meet the crab that loves coral.
Meet the crab that loves coral.

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