Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A large edible terrestrial crab (Birgus latro) that climbs trees, has a diet including coconuts and carrion, and is found on islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A species of crab, Birgus latro, that lives on land in the Indian Ocean and the central Pacific Ocean and feeds on fruits, nuts, seeds and coconut flesh.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word coconut crab.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
ruzuzu commented on the word coconut crab
"It is also known as the robber crab or palm thief, because some coconut crabs are rumored to steal shiny items such as pots and silverware from houses and tents."
--Wikipedia
March 27, 2011
bilby commented on the word coconut crab
I was introduced to one as a robber crab.
March 28, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word coconut crab
Was it adorable or terrifying?
March 28, 2011
bilby commented on the word coconut crab
Scary. It was very big. Like, uh, a basketball.
Local Malay name was udang gostan from udang, prawn or crab, + gostan, probably a corruption of English marinerspeak go astern, i.e. the 'crab that walks backwards'.
March 28, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word coconut crab
They look a bit like giant deer ticks, but I am fond of creatures that are drawn to shiny objects.
March 28, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word coconut crab
I should add that I'm basing that only on the pictures--and I've never seen a blue tick.
March 28, 2011
bilby commented on the word coconut crab
Rumoured to be drawn to shiny objects. The good folks on Christmas Island didn't mention it.
March 28, 2011