Scott & Jeanette Johnson, Kwajalein Unterwater
Info
Zosimus aeneus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Zosimus aeneus, also known as the devil crab, toxic reef crab, and devil reef crab is a species of crab that lives on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to Hawaiii. It grows to a size of 60 mm × 90 mm (2.4 in × 3.5 in) and has distinctive patterns of brownish blotches on a paler background.
It is potentially lethal due to the presence of the neurotoxins tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin in its flesh and shell! Both the shell and the meat of Zosimus aeneus contain significant concentrations of neurotoxins including tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin. Z. aeneus is considered the most poisonous crab in the Philippines, with 50% of intoxication cases being fatal.
Many species of the family Xanthidae can be poisonous, although they themselves have no poisonous apparatus (poisonous teeth, poisonous spines, poisonous glands in the skin), the consumption of these crustaceans can even be fatal for humans. Such animals are considered passive-poisonous.
The toxins of crabs (saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin) are produced by endobacteria and stored in the flesh of the crab, these e are highly potent and similar to the neurotoxins of puffer fish and just as deadly.
In its raw and cooked meat, consumption of the crab meat is toxic to humans!
Please be sure to clarify whether the meat of these crabs is toxic or non-toxic before eating it!
Call an emergency doctor immediately at the first signs of poisoning (e.g. breathing problems, muscle cramps)!
The good news is there’s no way you can be exposed to these toxins if you don’t try to eat these crabs – a bite or a jab isn’t going to do the job.
The bad news for those who unwittingly consume these crabs is that cooking the meat isn’t going to make the toxins any less effective.
Fortunately, toxic crabs don’t want to be eaten just as much as we shouldn’t be eating them, so they help us out with their glorious warning colours.
Synonymised names:
Cancer aeneus Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym)
Cancer amphitrite Herbst, 1801
Cancer floridus Herbst, 1783
Zozimus aeneus (Linnaeus, 1758) (misspelling)
Zozymus aeneus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Zosimus aeneus, also known as the devil crab, toxic reef crab, and devil reef crab is a species of crab that lives on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to Hawaiii. It grows to a size of 60 mm × 90 mm (2.4 in × 3.5 in) and has distinctive patterns of brownish blotches on a paler background.
It is potentially lethal due to the presence of the neurotoxins tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin in its flesh and shell! Both the shell and the meat of Zosimus aeneus contain significant concentrations of neurotoxins including tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin. Z. aeneus is considered the most poisonous crab in the Philippines, with 50% of intoxication cases being fatal.
Many species of the family Xanthidae can be poisonous, although they themselves have no poisonous apparatus (poisonous teeth, poisonous spines, poisonous glands in the skin), the consumption of these crustaceans can even be fatal for humans. Such animals are considered passive-poisonous.
The toxins of crabs (saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin) are produced by endobacteria and stored in the flesh of the crab, these e are highly potent and similar to the neurotoxins of puffer fish and just as deadly.
In its raw and cooked meat, consumption of the crab meat is toxic to humans!
Please be sure to clarify whether the meat of these crabs is toxic or non-toxic before eating it!
Call an emergency doctor immediately at the first signs of poisoning (e.g. breathing problems, muscle cramps)!
The good news is there’s no way you can be exposed to these toxins if you don’t try to eat these crabs – a bite or a jab isn’t going to do the job.
The bad news for those who unwittingly consume these crabs is that cooking the meat isn’t going to make the toxins any less effective.
Fortunately, toxic crabs don’t want to be eaten just as much as we shouldn’t be eating them, so they help us out with their glorious warning colours.
Synonymised names:
Cancer aeneus Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym)
Cancer amphitrite Herbst, 1801
Cancer floridus Herbst, 1783
Zozimus aeneus (Linnaeus, 1758) (misspelling)
Zozymus aeneus (Linnaeus, 1758)
