European explorers must have been stunned
by the vast expanse of forests and volcanoes
when they first came to the Indonesian archipelago back in the fifteenth century
It was an impenetrable world
and another little world full of mysteries.
The sands of these mangrove swamps teem
with an unbelievable variety of unseen creatures.
One of them makes use of his periscope to survey the situation.
It’s a Fiddler Crab,
named for the outsized dimensions of one of its claws.
They get their food from the mud
and it’s their playground as well.
The crab picks up chunks of mud with its claws
and places them in palps in front of its mouth.
The mud is filtered through some fine hairs and… down the hatch!
Of course the male can only use one of his claws.
The other is so big that it’s worthless for picking up mud.
He uses this claw to mark out territory…
And why not, to attract female fiddlers.
When he wants to impress them
he’ll shake his large claw around vigorously.
Several species of fiddler crabs coexist in the mangrove swamp.
Nevertheless, these ladies have no trouble telling their own gentlemen friends from the others.
When a female comes close to his territory,
the man of the hour will try to get close to her,
Well actually, she gets away from him and selects a different suitor.
She accompanies him to his shelter where nobody will bother them while they mate.
It’s also common to see two males fighting
over a comely damsel at the border between their territories.
So many adoring bachelors, and all of them so virile,
can only lead to squabbling.