The Biggest Crabs In the World May Have Eaten Amelia Earhart

Each week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (September 17, 2024).

Can you imagine a crab the size of a cat scuttling around your backyard, climbing up trees, and quietly sneaking away with your shiniest pots and silverware? No? Then perhaps you’ve never had the privilege of meeting a coconut crab.

Coconut crabs are the world’s largest land-based crustaceans. These mostly gentle giants can weigh as much as a small terrier and have a leg span of up to three feet (one meter). But their most impressive assets are their front claws, which grip with tremendous force. They use them to drag around objects weighing more than 60 pounds (27 kg) and to crack open coconuts, a feat few other species can pull off.

These crabs are curious and unfussy. In addition to coconut flesh, fallen fruit, nuts, and seeds, they’ll eat the remains of dead rats, seabirds, and even their own kind. This has led to speculation that these giants may be partly responsible for the disappearance of famed aviator Amelia Earhart, who perished in the remote Pacific. Some researchers believe that her remains were eaten by coconut crabs, who then dragged away the bones.

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