The Sand Bubbler Crab

On a previous post I showed you the balls of sand that the crabs in Brunei make. At that time, I was very intrigued with the patterns that these crabs create, but I was unaware of why they do this. Yesterday I had some time without the kids, so I headed to the beach to take in the views and do a little reading. As I was sitting there I noticed all these red leaves blowing in the beach. What I didn't realize until I came closer is that the leaves were crabs. As I came closer to them to take a photo, immediately all the crabs retreated to their burrows. Once I sat still for awhile they all came out and carried on forming the sand into balls. I use to think that the balls were formed while the crab made it's home, excavating the sand from out of a hole. I was completely wrong. These sand patterns across the beach are a result of the Sand Bubbler eating it's meal. It eats tiny edible particles found on the sand grains. As it filters the sand, the residue that comes out forms the balls of sand. It is quite a sight to see as the entire beach is filled with these small bubbles.