Male fiddler crabs flex their enormous one-sided claws to attract the ladies. But these females are not easily convinced by just the size of their claws, their prospective hubbies must be able to wave their claws at top speed. In this episode, we uncover the mysteries of this strange courtship behavior by investigating Dr. Sophie Mowles’s study, where she used robotic claws that imitate the waving patterns of these tiny critters.
FURTHER READINGS
Robotic crabs reveal that female fiddler crabs are sensitive to changes in male display rate (Biology Letters)
Background Article on fiddler crabs (Current Biology)
NYT Interview with Dr. Mowles (The New York Times)
Why Fiddler Crabs Have Such Giant Claws (Nova PBS)