Popper Crab

Popper Crabs are extremophile crabs which live in the sulphurous underground springs that feed the numerous hot springs on the island.

Adapted to a high-temperature, high-sulphur, mostly-aquatic environment, the crabs tend to be small and efficient, measuring only about two to three inches wide but with elongated pincers and spindly, spidery legs. They are typically a muddy yellow-brown colour, with highly reduced eyes and sensitive antennae and limbs that allow them to navigate by sensing the temperature of the water and the contour of the surrounding surfaces. They tend to live in moist underground burrows close to the leg of the Yuriba River nearest the Omolara Valley. They tend to venture from those burrows to prey on algae and small invertebrates like glowworms.

Due to their small size and the miniature nature of their pincers, they do not use them for defense but primarily as sensory organs. When threatened by predators they scurry along to try and dig into the mud or alternatively are known to shake violently and erupt in a bubbling foam, a form of threat display intended to intimidate predators. The loud popping of said bubbles gives them a distinct sound, hence their name.

Because these crabs dwell mainly in the hostile, sulphurous environment of volcanic springs, they are few in number and rarely seen above ground, and when they are seen they tend to go into their threat display to try and startle predators while they escape. As such most natives' experience with this species is the rare sight of a fussy crab popping bubbles and submerging into the mud again, and the name has thus stuck.