A coconut crab that somehow made its way to Oahu is causing concern about whether there could be others around.
The dark brown arthropod — 16 inches from leg to leg — ended up crawling along busy Salt Lake Boulevard on Sunday, but state quarantine officials say they don’t know how it got there.
The crab was found by a resident who captured it in a cardboard box and notified plant quarantine inspectors from the state Department of Agriculture.
The coconut crab, or Birgus latro, is the largest living land invertebrate and grows quite a bit larger than the captured crab. An adult can weigh as much as 30 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Coconut crabs are the world’s largest arthropod and are categorized with spiders and insects.
Rob Toonen, a University of Hawaii professor at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology, said coconut crabs can grow to 3 feet.
"Three feet is as big as a trash can. Literally, as big as a trash can," Toonen said. "That’s why people are worried about having it show up here. A crab that big can do damage if it’s wandering around trying to find things to eat."
A coconut crab infestation would have a huge impact on natural resources, he said.
"They’ll raid people’s trash cans, eat native birds, eat juvenile plants and tear up the landscape if they’re here. They grab a hold of things, can rip them open, can bust open a coconut. And the idea of that crawling around in their backyard is not going to be very pleasant to most people in Hawaii," he said.
Coconut crabs are found in the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific Ocean, including Guam, Christmas Island and Palmyra Island. They are nocturnal and remain in burrows during the day, scavenging at night for fruit, fish, crabs and coconuts, federal officials said.
It was the first sighting of the invasive species since 1989, according to state officials.
In a separate incident, state quarantine officials said a pet emu was turned in by a resident to the Panaewa Zoo in Hilo on Dec. 5 under an amnesty program. The emu, transported to Oahu, is being kept at the Honolulu Zoo.
Under the state’s amnesty program, individuals who have illegal animals may turn them in and are provided immunity from prosecution.
The state said anyone with knowledge of illegal animals is asked to call the state’s toll-free pest hotline at 643-PEST (7378).
———
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
