From crabs to lobsters, shrimps to Isopods, there are probably millions of animals that can be classed as crustaceans, but not many that are as big as the ones you are about to see. They are the worlds biggest crustaceans and some of them are the stuff of sea legends…
Ten of the Worlds Biggest Crustaceans and Where to Find Them
10 – Alicella
Said to be the largest species of amphipods in the world some of them grow up to 13″ (34 cm) long which is quite big given the great depths they live in.
While it is said there are well over 350 species of mantis shrimp this is the king of them all and adults are known to grow up to 15″ (38 cm) long.
8 – Giant Isopod
There are 10 known species of large isopods who mostly live in the coldest of waters. While it does depend a lot on the abundance of food most fully grow giant isopods can be 15″ (38 cm) long.
While most of these crabs can grow up to 15″ (38 cm) long they have been known to grow much larger, like the beast of them all they called Claude who had a 15″ (38 cm) base shell and from pincher to pincher was 21″ (53 cm) wide!
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6 – Tasmanian Giant Freshwater Crayfish
Said to be the largest freshwater invertebrate in the world they are only found in the rivers located in Tasmania. Size wise they can grow on average to 31″ (79 cm) wide and can be highly aggressive even to us humans!
5 – Giant Sea Spider
While you can find sea spiders all over the world, the giant ones located in Antarctica are the biggest of them all and often grow to 32″ (80 cm wide) The best news of all is that they are not really spiders at all, in fact, they are not even arachnids, more like a spindly crab.
4 – Coconut Crab
This giant terrestrial hermit crab is often known as the Robber Crab and can grow to incredible sizes. While they do get much, much bigger their average size is 39″ (100 cm) in length. The good news is they are known to be quite docile and only really go for food and very little else.
3 – American Lobster
While you can eat most of the crustaceans on this list this one is hunted for food and is much sought after for the banquet dinner table. Most of them will grow to 42″ (107 cm) in length they will grow much larger if there is more food to be had.
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Yet another crustacean that is hunted for food only this one can only be hunted in the winter months and only for a few weeks of the year. They are known to reach 71″ (180 cm) but they do get even larger than that is pods are left to breed unharvested. They are amazing crabs that is for sure.
They are the biggest of all the crabs and often grow to 75″ or 190 cm in length. This is mostly down to their spindly leg lengths but it’s still pretty impressive nevertheless.
