I was very surprised to find these little crabs in my oysters, let alone two of them. They are a type of Pea Crab, known as an Oyster Crab. The tiny crabs are parasites that live in the oyster shells and the freeloaders steal some of the plankton that the oyster filters for food.
I believe these are females, as their shell is almost transparent and you can actually see the red eggs inside them. The females live their life inside the Oyster shell. The males live outside, and have opaque shells. Apparently, when a male oyster crab finds an oyster with the female inside it spends hours rubbing the oyster shell until it gets so annoyed that it opens and lets the male crab in.
They are also edible and some people consider them delicious. Have you found any pea crabs in your oysters? Do you eat them? If so, how do they taste? I chickened out and did not eat them. Thanks for checking out my pictures!
