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May 27 (UPI) — Visitors to a Japanese beach are being treated to some unusual entertainment as fiddler crabs emerge from their burrows and perform their annual “dance.”
The crabs emerge from their burrows underneath the exposed tidal flats around this time every year, and the males perform a “dance” where they raise and lower their claws in unison.
Researchers do not know the exact purpose of the dance, but it is thought to be a means of attracting females or intimidating rivals.
The crabs, which measure less than half an inch across their carapace, are expected to appear in larger numbers as summer approaches. The breeding season lasts from May until August.
