Stay Eat Events Weather Beaches

Weird from Oregon Coast Archives: When They Found a Mutant Crab

Published 04/07/2020 at 3:24 AM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

Weird from Oregon Coast Archives: Mutant Crab Found in 2012

Latest Coastal Lodging News Alerts
In Seaside:
Includes exclusive listings; some specials in winter
In Cannon Beach:
Includes rentals not listed anywhere else
In Manzanita, Wheeler, Rockaway Beach:
Some specials for winter
In Pacific City, Oceanside:
Some specials for winter
In Lincoln City:
Some specials for winter
In Depoe Bay, Gleneden Beach:
Some specials for winter
In Newport:
Look for some specials
In Waldport
Some specials for winter
In Yachats, Florence
Some specials for winter

(Seaside, Oregon) –With the Oregon coast shut down to visitors, it seems a like a good time to revisit some fun and unusual moments in the Oregon Coast Beach Connection archives. This one happened in October of 2012. (All photos Tiffany Boothe, Seaside Aquarium).

It all started on October 18 of that year, when a local resident was crabbing off the 12th Ave. bridge and caught something really weird. It was a crab with three pinchers on one of its arms – a kind of mutant crab no one at the Seaside Aquarium had ever seen.

He donated it to the aquarium and by early November it was on display to the public.

Seaside Aquarium’s Tiffany Boothe said it was an exceptional rarity, a kind of deformity that probably happened early the crab’s development. The extra pincher was not functional, which told her the crab was likely not born with that.

“As part of their growth process, crabs actually shed their old shells as they grow new ones,” Boothe said. “This process is called molting. Sometimes a crab is injured while molting. This can cause strange deformities in the crab’s shell, such as in this crab.”

If the crab was born with it, the pincher would be under its control, Boothe said. But it is not a functional one. This led her to believe the extra pincher happened during an injury.

It was likely a very early injury, however, as Boothe said the pincher is not that much smaller than the others. This means the pincher has had almost as much time to grow as the real, functional appendages.

There is the possibility the crab was injured as early as the larval stage.

Back then in 2011, they put him in a separate tank and not with the other Dungeness crabs.

“He's so special I put him in a tank by himself and away from the others,” Boothe said. “Crabs can get, well, real crabby, and I don't want them to pull his pinchers off.”

Hotels in Seaside - Where to eat - Seaside Maps and Virtual Tours





Booking.com


More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

 

Oregon Coast event or adventure you can't miss

 



Coastal Spotlight


LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Velella Velella Return to Oregon Coast: Oddities and Space Junk?
Purple sails, what looks like space junk, more. Marine Sciences

Carousing Around the Central Oregon Coast for Spring Break A Nonstop Beach Party
Wonders of Lincoln City events, Depoe Bay events, Newport events, Waldport events, Yachats events, Florence events

25 Years Ago Today, Wild Tale of New Carissa Wreck Began on Oregon Coast (Pho...
Setting off a historic chain of sometimes wacky events in Coos Bay, Waldport. History, weather

Are the Kooky Little Pyrosomes Coming Back to Oregon Coast? New Sightings
There's still a sizable amount of scientific mystery behind them. Marine sciences

Washington Coast Crabbers, Last Part of Oregon Coast Get Going Feb 1
Commercial crabbing had been delayed weeks. Marine sciences

Cuteness Overload: Tufted Puffins Returning, Cannon Beach and N. Oregon Coast...
Annual Puffin Welcome Celebration on April 13th at Haystack Rock. Cannon Beach events

Oregon Coast Fin Whale Update: Sick, Weathered Orca Attack, Fishing Gear
A rare find, attacked by orcas, fishing gear, and very sick. Marine sciences

Southern Resident Orcas Off Oregon Coast Designated as Endangered Under State...
Only 76 of this type of killer whale left in the region. Marine sciences


Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted

Oregon Coast Lodging
Rentals
Specials

Dining

Events Calendar

Oregon Coast Weather

Travel News

Search for Oregon Coast Subjects, Articles

Virtual Tours, Maps
Deep Details