The largest living crab ever seen in Europe is coming to the Sea Life Centre in Scheveningen on 3 August.

‘Crabzilla’ is a Japanese giant spider crab (Macrocheira Kaempferi) that was caught in the Pacific Ocean at the end of last year. He was first housed at the Sea Life Centre in Birmingham, England, and was then moved to Sea Life Blankenberge in Belgium.

Crabzilla is a fully grown adult  spider crab whose claw span is over 3.5 metres. When fully grown, a giant spider crab can measure up to 4.5 m. It is not just its sheer size that makes this crab a monstrous apparition: since the crab resembles a spider, it is even more terrifying for many people.

In fact, giant crabs are essentially lethargic animals that move fairly slowly over the sandy seabed along the coast of Japan, China and Taiwan, where they live at a depth of 200 to 300 metres and are sometimes found in large numbers. The females lay their eggs in shallow waters near the coast. The species is fished for, but its meat is not so tasty.

The animal is being collected in Belgium with a special refrigerated truck with a special tank and air pumps. In Sea Life Scheveningen he will be fed with mussels, whiting and squid.

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