The Artful Disguise of a Decorator Crab

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the decorator crab and its unique ability to camouflage by attaching various marine organisms to its exoskeleton. Participants explore the concept of disguise in nature, drawing humorous parallels to domestic pets and their behaviors.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express admiration for the decorator crab's camouflage abilities, suggesting it could be a contender for a photo contest.
  • There are humorous suggestions about how pets like dogs and cats could mimic the crab's behavior by using household items for disguise.
  • One participant notes the surprising difficulty in spotting the crab in the image, highlighting the effectiveness of its disguise.
  • Several participants share anecdotes and playful ideas about their own pets, particularly kittens, and their mischievous behaviors.
  • Discussions about photo editing software arise, with participants sharing preferences and opinions on tools like Photoshop and Paintshop Pro.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a light-hearted tone and agree on the amusing concept of pets disguising themselves, but there is no consensus on the practicality or implications of such behavior.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes various assumptions about animal behavior and the effectiveness of camouflage, but these are not resolved or universally accepted among participants.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in animal behavior, humor related to pets, or discussions about camouflage in nature may find this thread engaging.

Ivan Seeking
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This small cryptic-looking "decorator crab" appears to have mastered the art of disguise by attaching various anemones and coral polyps to its exoskeleton. [continued]
deco-crab.jpg

http://www.divegallery.com/decorator.htm
...more pics...
 
Biology news on Phys.org
This looks like a good candidate for the Hallowe'en photo contest (except you didn't take it yourself).

It'd get my vote.
 
OMG! There's a crab in there? :bugeye:
 
Wouldn't it be cool if dogs and cats did this with stuff that is laying around the house?
 
I can just make out a few legs.

Though, the thread title had conjured up a rather different image in my mind than this. :smile:
 
Ivan Seeking said:
Wouldn't it be cool if dogs and cats did this with stuff that is laying around the house?
:bugeye: :smile:

Gawd I wish I had photoshop!
 
nothing beats paintshop pro !

:smile:

The gimp should be free.. its somewhat like Photoshop..
 
Ivan Seeking said:
Wouldn't it be cool if dogs and cats did this with stuff that is laying around the house?
You mean like curtains? :biggrin:

Can you find the cat?
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/4465/embercurtain1mw8.jpg

Here she is out of hiding...sort of.
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/3783/embercurtain2mq6.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #10
Ivan Seeking said:
Wouldn't it be cool if dogs and cats did this with stuff that is laying around the house?

http://www.stuffonmycat.com/" :wink:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #11
Moonbear said:
You mean like curtains? :biggri:
Awww, she's getting so big!
 
  • #12
Evo said:
Awww, she's getting so big!
Yep, there's nothing out of climbing reach anymore. I weighed her yesterday, and she's a whopping 4 lbs already! :biggrin: But, dangit, she still has those super-sharp kitten teeth! How much longer before she trades them in for the new set? :bugeye: She's also learned how to climb between the blankets on the bed instead of staying on top of them, which means less layers between her and my toes when she wakes me in the morning by reminding me she still has her kitten teeth!

Her latest trick is to sneak out the door into the garage with me in the morning. That's when my hands are usually full and I can't get the door shut quickly, so I have to start adding an extra 10 min to my morning to get all my stuff into the car, and then find her in the garage and catch her to get her back into the house before I can open the garage door and start the car. Thank goodness I have a garage so she isn't just sneaking out the front door with me!
 
  • #13
Ah, yes, the joys of kittens. :biggrin:

Maybe if you stick some anemones on her it will slow her down.
 

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