Wallis Futuna: Fiddler Crabs

There was a brackish beach at low tide covered with thousands of these amazing crabs – fiddler crabs. They are rather small, just a 3-4cm, but amazingly one of their claws is almost the size of the rest of their bodies (this phenomenon is known as dimorphic claws). Only males have these massive claws, and they serve no purpose except to attract females. The male crabs shake the giant claws in front of a female to attract a mate. The guys with the biggest claws get all the females, and the guys who can shake the massive claw the longest – get even more female attention (since you gotta be quite athletic to wave a weight equal to you body mass). They are called fiddler crabs because when the eat, it looks like they are playing a fiddle, as the claw is positioned in front of them. And the last interesting fact – if the claw is lost in fighting or accident – the other small claw will grow into a big one, while the lost limb will develop into a new small claw. Oh and they can also change their color!
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