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Crabs, Lobsters, and Shrimp
Crabs, lobsters and shrimp are all a part of the scientific class
crustaceans, which has 30,000 different species.
One thing that all crustaceans have in common is that they all have an
outer shell protecting them. Even
though some species live on land, about 99% spend their entire life in different
kinds of water like seas, lakes, and rivers.
If you have ever eaten a
crab, or a lobster you know that you need a special type of scissors to open the
shell to the meat. That
hard-to-open shell protects the animal from its enemies.
Its shell is made up of overlapping plates that work kind of like a
knight's armor. To keep a
crustacean's shell healthy, it needs calcium. Although a
crab, lobster, or shrimp’s shell is useful, one thing stands in its way of
being perfect. During the growth of
the animal its shell does not grow with its organs, so at a certain point in
time the crab and lobster needs to molt, or shed its shell for another one. The largest
crustaceans live in the Pacific Ocean near Japan.
The Japanese spider crab can be up to 12 feet from the top of a claw to
the other. Wow!
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