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Shore Crab mugged by Common Blennies – food stolen

shore crab being mugged by blennies
Yikes! More fighting in the rock pools.
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A Shore Crab was mugged by local Common Blennies. A fight broke out, but in the end the crab lost out and had all it’s food stolen.
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The crab had already spent hours working hard for it’s living, by slowly but surely slicing out the hinges of a Common Mussel’s protective shells. Once the hinges were cut, the shell was able to be pulled open and the meat (the hapless mussel inside) could be got at and munched by the crab.
 

On this occasion, all it’s hard work was wasted, as, just when about to tuck-in, the local blennies turned up and set about mugging the crab and stealing all the food.

The blennies in this vid, demonstrate their cool fast spin, as one method of tearing off chunks of meat.

 

See the fight in our YouTube vid’.
Shore Crab mugged by Common Blennies – food stolen.

 

A quickie on the survival bit:
As well as a bit of drama in a salty sea shore puddle… there is an important point to note:

In nature the energy invested in “doing” things, must be less than the energy the living creature obtains from fuelling itself (feeding)….. otherwise it will begin to starve.

This video shows the blennies stealing the food (easy fuel), once the crab has done all the hard work of getting it open.
This crab, this time, would have spent more energy in opening and defending the food source then it got by feeding on it…. it didn’t get much of a chance to feed on it.

If too many of these situations occur, it will lead to the starvation of the crab

 

A quickie on the video:
The cameras were already set up to film how a crab goes about opening the mussel…. this was achieved (another video) and then this fight took place…. so here it is. Just another everyday hassle for the wildlife of our seashores.

Sea Shore Antics…. It’s what they do!
In this video:
Shore Crab – Latin name = Carcinus maenas
Common Blenny – Latin name = Lipophrys pholis
Common Mussel – Latin name = Mytilus edulis

  

End Note.
Perhaps the video may be helpful as stimulus for education or intrigue – To learn or start discussions on our seashore and it’s inhabitants.
(we’re all having a go at living on this planet… Earth)

The shore crabs, blennies and mussels, that are alive and kicking on this planet, in their environments….. are attempting to survive right now, today.
 
 
 

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5 Responses to "Shore Crab mugged by Common Blennies – food stolen"

  1. admin says:

    Use the tabs under the post – ‘Previous Post’ ‘Following Post’ – First Post’ ‘Latest Post’ – to move along the stories of Sea Shore Antics… in order of writing.
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    * Use or Share… for a bit of education or intrigue

  2. Shona says:

    Very useful for use in education on wildlife survival living needs. All ages know of these creatures, but few will have seen this daily type of ‘living’.

  3. Brenda P Jones says:

    This is very interesting. The points written in the article are so true for wildlife, yet often we do not see it (witness it).

    The video is short and allows a peep into their world

  4. Catherine says:

    This is great. A look into their world. What a bad day for the crab. What a bad, bad, bad day for the mussel!!!

    Have used, will use ongoing, for primary education. Also of interest to my adult peer group. They commented to it as interesting and also commented that the duration was a useful and handy bitesize type of length

    More please

  5. Jack Davies says:

    How interesting. Most people know the shore crab, but not that it gets duffed in by it’s fellow self-centered neighbours.

    This gives an insight into thier world. A world that had different rules from human civilisation.

    Very good for education on sea shore inhabitants, but also for compare with human civil conduct.

    Nice idea