Giant Coconut Crab also called the robber crab or palm thief, because some coconut crabs are rumored to steal shiny items such as pots and silverware from houses and tents. A coconut crab will attack if it is threatened.

It is probably at the upper limit of how big terrestrial animals with exoskeletons can become in today’s atmosphere. The species inhabits the coastal forest regions of many Indo-Pacific islands, although localized extinction has occurred where the crab is sympatric with man. Generally nocturnal, they remain hidden during the day and emerge only on some nights to forage.