Australia’s ghost crabs decapitate baby sea turtles
Life can get off to a rough start for loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) hatchlings. In fact, it can look more like a feeding frenzy with the sea turtles as the featured dish. After they hatch from their nests on the beach, Australia’s golden ghost crabs (Ocypode convexa) will trap the turtles by gripping their necks. Then they decapitate the turtle and feed on their severed heads. It’s a grisly scene for the turtles that is detailed in a study published earlier this year in the journal Animals. The crabs along Australia’s western coast prey on loggerhead sea turtles. CREDIT: Casper Avenant, ECU and DBCA. “Previous studies are mostly limited to evidence of loggerhead turtle nest disturbances and egg counts,” said Casper Avenant, a study co-author and marine biologist from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. “While even fewer studies have investigated the mechanics of hatchling predation once they have emerged from...