Just like mushrooms, all crabs are edible - but some only once. Let that be a warning to hungry reef sharks in the Indo-Pacific region: what may look like a tasty meal may be your last. The aptly named Devil’s Reef Crab is one such example.
Just like mushrooms, all crabs are edible - but some only once. Let that be a warning to hungry reef sharks in the Indo-Pacific region: what may look like a tasty meal may be your last. The aptly named Devil’s Reef Crab is one such example.
When you’ve got a bunch of living things (humans included) trying to snack on your flesh, it helps to carry a secret weapon, and for the Devil’s Reef Crab, that weapon is deadly poison, stored within its muscles. Take a bite of its flesh and you’ll be swallowing two of the most lethal toxins: tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin. With 50% of intoxication cases being fatal, the Devil’s Reef Crab is considered the most poisonous crab in the Philippines.
