Also known as the West Indian spider crab, Mithrax spinosissimus, the channel crab is a more delicious relative of the Alaskan king crab, covering an area from southern Florida to throughout the Caribbean.
These animals can grow to four pounds and live at depths of 400 feet. Reddish-brown omnivores, they spend their days in deep caves or hiding under coral overhangs, only to emerge with impunity and forage under cover of darkness.
During the daylight, they will know you’re coming from a mile away, but they are easily approached at night because they cannot see you. You can shine your light across them or wave your hands in front of one with absolutely no response.
Touch one, however, and all hell breaks loose. I can attest to the strength of the male’s massive claws; I nearly lost a finger to a ‘dead’ one as it was going into the pot.
Tom Byrnes is the owner/operator of Cayman Marine Lab. He acquired his Coast Guard Captain’s Licence when he was a teenager and worked as a commercial fisherman in his youth. He got his first diving certificate in 1974 with the YMCA. He has worked in the local dive industry for more than 35 years and has a PhD in marine biology.
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