A few facts from under the rocks
—Creation's Crustaceans
by Paula Weston
Robber Crabs1
The Robber (or Coconut) Crab, Birgus latro, is not only the world’s
largest land invertebrate, it’s also a thief that climbs trees at night and
steals coconuts! These huge crustaceans of the south-west Pacific and Indian Oceans,
can grow to a length of 60 cm (2 ft), from head to tail. They sneak out of their
burrows at night, climb the trunks of coconut palms or other fruit trees, and snip
off the coconut or fruit with their two giant pincers. They climb back down the
tree and gather up the food, then use the pincers to chip at the coconut until it
opens.
- Doolan, R., The robber
crab, Creation 15(1):44–45, 1992.
Shrimp and goby1
Some of the most fascinating instances of design are seen in symbiotic (‘living
together’) relationships between different species, such as that which exists
between goby fish and shrimp. They live together in a hole which is dug and maintained
by the blind shrimp. The shrimp continuously keeps the entrance to the hole clear
of debris by using its front claws in a bulldozer-like fashion, trusting the goby
to keep guard at the entrance.
The shrimp always keeps one feeler (antenna) on the fish. If danger approaches in
the form of a hungry predator, the goby signals the shrimp with a flick of its tail,
and both scurry down the hole at lightning speed until the coast is clear.
Evolution has great difficulty explaining how such a partnership came about. This
type of simultaneous programming points to creation.
- Doolan, R., Helpful animals,
Creation 17(3):10-14, 1995.
Daphnia
Among the world’s smallest crustaceans are tiny creatures called water fleas
(so named because they look much like those insects). The best known are of the
genus Daphnia. Shown here is a Daphnia longispina.
Horseshoe crab
The Horseshoe Crab is not a ‘true crab’ (it’s not a crustacean),
but is rather another type of arthropod grouped with scorpions, spiders, and extinct
trilobites. Here we have another example of what evolutionists term a ‘living
fossil’. Fossil representatives almost identical to the modern-day Horseshoe
Crabs date back to the Jurassic period (which supposedly started 190 million years
ago).1Again we see the claimed passage of vast amounts of time but without
a hint of any evolutionary changes having taken place.
A medical wonder
Horseshoe Crabs, once used by man mostly as fertilizer and as feed for chickens
and hogs, are now highly valued for their contribution to medical science. Scientists
recently discovered that the blood of the Horseshoe Crab contains a protein that
is a key ingredient in a powder used to screen for contaminants in drugs, vaccines
and intravenous drips.2 Scientists believe that no other creature produces
the protein, and it can’t be manufactured by man. Interestingly, one-third
of the Horseshoe Crab’s precious blood can be taken without causing death.3
- New Encyclopaedia Britannica 6:72, 1992.
- The freeze-dried powder, known as Limulus Amebocyte Lysate is considered the most effective substance for this process.
- Journal Now: Blood of the Crab, <http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/features/health/horsehoe.htm>, 29 September 2000.
Fairy crabs
Very little is known about the fairy crab, Lauriea siagiani (actually it’s
a squat lobster). It was first described about eight years ago, discovered three
years earlier in Bali, Indonesia. This fascinating creature appears to live only
on the giant barrel sponge, along with some other tiny crabs of a different species.
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