Red King Crab: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Crabs and Shells · day 4 of 7

Five facts

1. The biggest of the king crabs, it can measure 1.8 m from one leg tip to the other and weigh up to 12.7 kg.
2. Its name comes from the bright red it turns once cooked. Alive in the sea, it is more of a deep wine colour.
3. From about two years old, young crabs gather in tight piles of hundreds, called pods, 20 to 50 m below the surface.
4. In the 1960s the Soviet Union moved these Pacific crabs to the Barents Sea. They died on the trip by land, so a batch came by plane.
5. Norwegians sometimes call them Stalin's crabs. Some scientists think they spread about 50 km further down the coast each year.

The quiz

1. How wide can a red king crab's leg span be?

• 30 cm
• 80 cm
• 1.8 m (correct)
• 5 m

Its legs can span 1.8 m from tip to tip.

2. Why is it called the red king crab?

• It turns bright red when cooked (correct)
• It glows red in the dark
• It only eats red seaweed
• Its eggs are bright red

It was named for its colour after cooking; alive it is a deep wine red.

3. What is podding?

• Crabs hiding inside empty shells
• Crabs burying themselves in mud
• Hundreds of crabs packing tightly together (correct)
• Crabs carrying seaweed on their backs

Young crabs gather in tight groups of hundreds called pods.

4. How did the first surviving red king crabs reach the Barents Sea?

• They walked along the seabed
• On the hulls of ships
• By train
• By plane (correct)

Crabs moved by land did not survive, so a batch was flown in.

5. What do some people in Norway call red king crabs?

• Viking crabs
• Stalin's crabs (correct)
• Midnight sun crabs
• Troll crabs

They are called Stalin's crabs because the Soviet Union brought them.

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