Crabs may not seem unusual, but there's one kind here that's like no other. On this little island in Vanuatu lives a real oddity. It's the largest terrestrial invertebrate on Earth-the robber crab. The biggest can weigh up to four kilograms-the same as a newborn baby-and have a leg span of one metre. It's a hermit crab on steroids. At night, the huge "robbers" really come alive. Although these crabs are found throughout the Pacific, it's only on undisturbed islands that you can see them in such numbers. Exactly why robber crabs have grown so big is a mystery, but with so few creatures making it to these remote islands, the giant crustaceans seem to have filled a niche normally taken by medium-sized mammals.


蟹似乎并非不寻常，但这里有一种与众不同。在瓦努阿图的这个小岛上生活着一种真正的怪物，是地球上最大的陆栖无脊椎动物——盗蟹。最大的体重超过4公斤，像新出生婴儿般大小，一腿能跨1米，像用了激素的寄生蟹。晚上大盗开始活跃起来，虽然这种蟹在太平洋能到处找到，但只有在人迹罕至的岛屿上才能看到它们数量如此众多。为什么盗蟹长得如此之大是个谜团。只有少数的动物能到达这些偏远的岛屿，大甲壳纲动物似乎填补了通常中型哺乳类动物的位置。