Shore Crab by Bianca Settle
The tide rolls in and out, but no day is the same.
This is the story of me, Shore Crab is my name.
Life by the shore is full of ups and downs –
listen to me and I’ll tell you how.
Across the water the sun comes up
and the rays spread over my special rock.
Although there’s danger on the big wide beach,
I leave my rock-crack ‘cause it’s time to eat.
I scuttle around on my eight walking legs,
picking at seagrass, kelp, and things that are dead.
With an eye on the sky to watch for birds flying low,
another on the rocks for crabs stealing my home.
If I get in a fight with a home-pincher
I can protect myself from a jabbing pincer.
Unlike you, I don’t have bones on the inside,
but my shell made of chitin keeps me alive.
However, there is one problem though –
as I grow bigger I need to moult.
Too big for my shell, the pressure builds up,
and across my back a crack opens up.
Bit by bit I wriggle myself out
until my old shell sits empty on the ground.
For a few hours later I lay pretty low
as I’m squishy and soft and my legs won’t go!
Once my shell hardens up I can walk and I’m safe,
and it’s time to set off and find a mate.
For countless years we’ve bred here in the intertidal,
and now it’s my turn to continue that cycle.
You might be surprised to learn that we have tails
which are ‘U-shaped’ for females and ‘V-shaped’ for males.
Our tails are bent under our body, in between our legs.
Between her tail and her belly a female carries her eggs.
She carries thousands of tiny eggs at a time,
splashing them with water to keep them alive.
When the tiny babies hatch they get washed away
and grow up in the water ‘til they come back one day.
It’s hard to believe that once I was that tiny too,
floating around in the endless blue…
But I must scuttle on, there’s things to do:
Find food, find that mate…
So goodbye to you!
If you would like to learn more about the huge diversity of life that can be found along our coasts and shorelines, please contact our Education Director at education@dolphinresearch.org.au for a public event, school holiday program or school incursion/excursion.
