Hi there my Steemian friends and followers!
Just as I expected, the latest theme proved to be the most challenging of all the animal photo contests that I have hosted so far and it is not surprising at all, considering how specific and relatively unknown crustaceans are.
We had fewer competitors than with the Insect Photography Challenge and the Reptile Photography Challenge but those who did participate this time did a fantastic job, allowing me to compile an impressive winning selection again ;)
Seriously, thank you so much for your participation guys, I really appreciate the effort you put in this challenging photo contest!
After repeated browsing through all the entries and some proper consideration, I decided to choose these 5 winners:
Thank you again for tagging me, and for organizing another cool contest! That first photo is great; I could swear I have photos of hermit crabs somewhere, but can't recall! Nevertheless, I have a couple of decent crustacean photos :) This one was taken in Cambodja, in one of the small islands near Sihanoukville. We were enjoying a day trip in the secluded beaches, and this little guy showed up. He didn't stayed for long, but didn't seem troubled with the photos either!
Hi 
So my entry will be this lobster with his offspring swimming all around him. I photographed him in the Netherlands while diving. Depending on the time of the year you can find a lot of lobsters sitting around in their caves or at night even wandering around the reef.
My entry. This little friend tries to sting me with his sharp tongs when I try to take this photo luckily I do not spike, Well this little friend is found in the rivers and caverns of Serrania del Turimiquiri, Sucre state in Venezuela
I saw these small crustaceans at Whiteheaven beach in Australia, there were hundreds if not thousands of them on the beach!
...and these 5 runners-up:
These colorful crabs were the first animals I saw when I arrived in the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador). They are everywhere and it is impossible not to see them on the black stones that are in almost all the geography of these beautiful islands.
Euastacus sulcatus or the Lamington Spiny Crayfish can be found in the Lamington and Springbrook Nationalpark in Queensland Australia. Often found walking on rainforest tracks after rain. If encountered can be very aggressive waving its claws back over its head and hissing audibly. Can deliver a painful nip if handled.
I met this handsome boy in Qbajjar bay, Malta. Small sandy beach about 15 minutes walk from Marsalforn in the direction of Zebbug. Isn't he cute?
Challenge Accepted! Here I have Mr. Krusty Krab that was staring at me with his weird little eyes, possibly thinking "What the heck is this guy doing?"
Armadillidium. One would say small, tiny insects. But in fact, they are crustaceans living in the shade, under the stones and in damp places. They feed on rotting bodies of animals. It's like a visit from prehistoric times, reminding us of an ancient trilobite. And most of all, I might find a crayfish here, but they are quite rare with us ;)
As promised in the original post, the winners won 5 SBI shares each, paid by me (you can check that in my wallet) and the runners-up got my full upvote on their entries.
Congratulations guys, you did an excellent job :) Hopefully, you enjoyed the contest as much as I did and I cannot wait to host another animal photo challenge soon (I promise the next theme will be easier) so stay tuned! :)
Thank you for visiting my blog. If you like posts about #nature, #animals, #ecology, #crypto, #traveling, #photography and discovering secrets and beauties of the #world, feel free to follow me as these are the topics I mostly write about. Have a wonderful day and keep on Steeming! :)