The ocean is full of examples of symbiosis – when two creatures have a close relationship, often that benefits them both – but some are more strange than others. In Bali, Indonesia, an underwater photographer spotted a particularly unusual example.
Yury Ivanov was on a night dive in Tulamben when he saw a peculiar creature scuttling towards him. It looked like a crab wearing an extravagant feathered hat.
Ivanov soon realised that it wasn’t one animal, but two.
“The sea urchin crab (Dorippe frascone) is carrying the upside down jellyfish (Cassiopea andromeda) on [its] back to protect itself from predators,” he says on Instagram.
Watch: a sea urchin crab carries an upside down jellyfish in Bali. Credit: Yury Ivanov
Also known as carrier crabs, these crustaceans have developed the ability to hold other animals above them, like a shield, using modified legs.
They can often be seen carrying spiky sea urchins but jellyfish, with their stinging tentacles, work well too.
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