The biggest crab in the world, says Stuart Blackman, has to be the Japanese spider crab.
In terms of linear dimensions, crabs don’t come bigger, and there's a museum specimen in the Netherlands that has a massive legspan of 3.7m.
Weighing 13.6kg, the Japanese spider crab may also be the heaviest crab, but the Tasmanian giant crab, a stockier species, also has a claim there.
According to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, it can reach 17.6kg, which is nudging the standard airline baggage allowance.
Also worth a mention is the coconut (or robber) crab of the Indo-Pacific. At about 4kg, it is the heaviest of all terrestrial invertebrates and powerful enough to open coconuts.
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