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Nature

How wide is a Japanese spider crab?

The largest recorded Japanese spider crab has a leg span of about 3.7 m (12 ft).

What is measured: Maximum leg span

Japanese spider crab (3.7 m) drawn to scale beside a doorway (2 m) and a 20-foot shipping container (6.06 m)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Doorway (2 m), Japanese spider crab (3.7 m) and Shipping container (20 ft) (6.06 m).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About 61% of the length of a 20-foot shipping container
  • About 1.9× the height of a doorway
  • About 2.2× the height of an adult person
  • About 3 would fit end to end along a city bus
  • About 6 would fit end to end along a tennis court

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Facts about Japanese spider crab

The Japanese spider crab is the largest arthropod by leg span, with individuals living in deep waters around Japan.

Source: Guinness World Records, “Largest arthropod”; Smithsonian Ocean, “Japanese Spider Crab”

Nature

NameSizeCompared with Japanese spider crab
Red kangaroo1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)0.49×
Welwitschia2 m (6 ft 7 in)0.54×
Moeraki Boulder2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)0.59×
Harpy eagle2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)0.59×
Bald eagle2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)0.62×
Victoria amazonica leaf3 m (9 ft 10 in)0.81×
Giant sunflower3 m (9 ft 10 in)0.81×
Giant Pacific octopus3 m (9 ft 10 in)0.81×
California condor3 m (9 ft 10 in)0.81×
Japanese spider crab3.7 m (12 ft)this page

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Japanese spider crab or Victoria amazonica leaf?

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