TANGIER, Va. (AP) - An unusual crab has been pulled from the Chesapeake Bay.
The blue crab has two oysters growing on either side of her head near her eyes. The crab is estimated to be about 2 years old and was found in a crab pot that belonged to the mayor of Tangier Island. The oysters are about six months old.
The Washington Post reports there's an explanation for why the crab got stuck with two oysters on her head. Experts say oyster larvae need something hard to attach on to and grow. Old oyster shells and reefs are perfect, but over the years their numbers have diminished.
A spokesman for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Tom Zolper, says the oyster larvae were probable "desperate" and settled on the crab.
