Its large claws are used for catching and
killing prey.
Crabs have five pairs of jointed legs. If
a crab looses a leg it can grow a new one.
Crabs eyes are carried on stalks. Some
crabs have long eye stalks and others are very short.
Crabs breathe with gills. They take water
in to the gill chamber under the carapace through pairs of slits near
the base of their legs. Water passes out through openings in the
mouth frame.
As crabs grow too big for their skeleton
they moult. The skeleton splits and the crab carefully edges its way
out. Its new soft skeleton is underneath.
Crabs have to be very
careful at this time in case their predators find them.
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