Animal Sex: How Crabs Do It

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Pair of red rock crabs mating
Crabs, like these red rock crabs, often engage in a premating hug in which the male will wrap his claws and legs around the female. (Image credit: Greg Amptman's Undersea Discoveries | Shutterstock)

Crabs can be found in all of the world's oceans and throughout the fresh water systems on land. Despite the crustaceans' apparent success, you'd think their odd body shape and rigid shells would make mating physically difficult. So just how do crabs do it?

In order to grow and increase their size, crabs must first molt, or shed their exoskeleton. And it is only during this molting period — when the new shell hasn't yet hardened — that most aquatic crab species mate, said Pamela Jensen, a biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

After making a chemical connection, the pair will engage in a premating embrace, where the male will wrap his claws and legs around the female. In some species, the female will go into this position willingly; in others, the male must prove himself through the hug. "Once she's convinced he's strong enough, she'll stop struggling," Jensen told LiveScience.

The embrace can last several days, after which point the female will molt and the pair will mate. The male transfers sperm by inserting his gonopods (sexual organs resembling antennae) into the two genital pores, called gonophores, on the female's underside. The female stores the sperm in a storage sac called a spermatheca until she is ready to use it.  

Some crabs will mate standing up, facing one another, but most species actually prefer the missionary position, with the female beneath the male. Once copulation is complete, the male will guard the female for a few days (giving her shell time to harden) before taking off in search of a new mate.

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Joseph Castro
Joseph Castro
Live Science Contributor
Joseph Bennington-Castro is a Hawaii-based contributing writer for Live Science and Space.com. He holds a master's degree in science journalism from New York University, and a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Hawaii. His work covers all areas of science, from the quirky mating behaviors of different animals, to the drug and alcohol habits of ancient cultures, to new advances in solar cell technology. On a more personal note, Joseph has had a near-obsession with video games for as long as he can remember, and is probably playing a game at this very moment.