The Puny Crayfish Bluff Strategy - How Do They Get Away With It?

Sunday, March 1, 2009 - 10:57 in Biology & Nature

Puny Crayfish may have big claws for show but they can't really use them - their muscles are actually weaker than females with smaller claws. So why does it work?  A group of scientists writing in The Journal of Experimental Biology set out to discover the answer. Slender crayfish are aggressive territorial creatures, explains ecologist Robbie Wilson of the University of Queensland, Australia. When two crayfish catch sight of one another, they size each other up in a ritualistic display, which can quickly escalate from careful tapping of their opponent's chelae (enlarged front claws) to a full-blown fight.   read more

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