Ok, this isn't as scary as the spider looking thing I found on Wikipedia once.
Wikipedia's Coconut Crab (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_crab), the stuff of nightmares.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/sci_nat_wildlife_photographer_of_the_year/img/5.jpg
Actually... this one makes me think of how good crab would be in a coconut curry. :p

That just made me order in Thai food for Dinner !

Chillie crab claws and a Thai green curry !

Well that is a real crab... and it looks quite creepy...

But I got this mail from a friend and thought it was really neat. Figured I'd share. (Along the lines of animal pictures... photoshop fun!)

http://www.funpic.hu/funblog<WBR>/allatok/allatok.html (http://www.funpic.hu/funblog/allatok/allatok.html)

That's like The Ugly Zoo! (http://unix.rulez.org/~calver/pictures/uglyzoo/)

Oh dear, even worse, these aren't photoshopped:
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/10/dont_step_on_th.html

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/10/pugcodile.html

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/images/pupoween.jpg

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/images/cow_pwint.jpg

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/images/famous_chi.jpg

We got to see Coconut crabs in Palau. They're scarier IRL than they are in the picture. I wouldn't touch one.

And the costumes are very cute, although I, personally, wouldn't subject my dogs or birds to that - how can they ever hold their heads up in polite society again? (I have thought about photoshopping a little bow tie onto my birds).

Do they eat coconut crabs, Jinj?

aybe they'd make a good pet. I had a pet hermit crab when I was in college. I let him go at La Jolla shores when I came home for xmas though.

Ack... they do sell them as pets in Japan.
This hermit crab with its intimidating size and strength has a special position in the culture of the islanders. The coconut crab is eaten by the Pacific islanders, and is considered a delicacy and an aphrodisiac, with a taste similar to lobster and crabmeat. The most prized parts are the eggs inside the female coconut crab and the fat in the abdomen. Coconut crabs can be cooked in a similar way to lobsters, by boiling or steaming. Different islands also have a variety of recipes, as for example coconut crab cooked in coconut milk.

While the coconut crab itself is not poisonous, it may become poisonous depending on its diet, and cases of coconut crab poisoning have occurred. It is believed that the poison comes from plant toxins, which would explain why some animals are poisonous and others not. It may also be possible that this poison is considered an aphrodisiac, similar to the highly poisonous pufferfish eaten in Japan. However, coconut crabs are not a commercial product and are usually not sold.

Hunting is best on a moonless night with wet ground using flashlights. The best time is the three days following the new moon. Coconut crabs can also be hunted during the day, but this involves digging to reach them in their burrows or a fire to smoke them out of their hiding places. It is also suggested that spreading burnt coconut halves will attract coconut crabs.

Children sometimes play (carefully) with coconut crabs. One technique is to trick them by placing some wet grass at an angle on a palm tree that contains a coconut crab. When the animal climbs down, it believes the grass is the ground and releases its grip on the tree, and subsequently falls.

The coconut crab is admired for its strength, and it is said that villagers use this animal to guard their coconut plantations. A coconut crab may attack a person if it is threatened. The coconut crab, especially if it is not yet fully grown, is also sold as a pet, for example in Tokyo. The cage must be strong enough that the animal cannot use its strong claws to escape.

It seems to me that having a pet with claws powerful enough to crack coconuts, and without any of the loyalty and affection found in mammalian pets, is a recipe for disaster.