A crustacean's creation: The incredible sand ball 'galaxies' of the humble hermit crab

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Coming out of its shell: During the molting process, a hermit crab will re-grow any limbs it has lost

They could be the work of a talented artist with far too much time on his hands.
But these spectacular sculptures are in fact created by dozens of hermit crabs as they tunnel into the sand.
The intricate patterns form when the tiny crustaceans push out two or three sand balls to the surface at a time, resulting in unusual, large-scale arrangements.


Out of this world: These intricate galaxy-like sculptures were produced by hermit crabs as they burrow into the sand on a beach in Malaysia Borneo

Flower power: The crustaceans clearly have a penchant for floral designs from the look of this image

Humble, but mighty: The tiny crabs use their claws to dig tunnels in the beach, roll up the sand and toss the balls behind them

Photographer Alexander Yurusov, 43, spotted the crab construction while wandering along Nexus Karambunai beach in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo, in January.
He said: 'By pushing sandballs from tunnels in the sand it forms "sand ball flowers" or a "sand ball galaxy".
'In the evening, a high tide wave will wash everything away and the crabs will start their construction all over again the next day during low tide.'

Labouring the point: The scale of the work is quite remarkable for such tiny crabs. And it all gets washed away when the tide comes in

Practical: The crabs create the tunnels to get protection from the elements during molting season, which occurs roughly every 18 months

Meticulous: The crabs will push two or three sand balls to the surface at a time

He added: 'If you look up close, you can see the almost perfectly spherical balls that the crabs engineer. They are meticulous in their method.'
When they molt, the hermit crabs burrow into the sand for privacy and protection from the elements.
During the process, which usually happens roughly every 18 months for a hermit crab, it will also re-grow any limbs it has lost.
Crabs are also known to create such sand balls while feeding.
They start by collecting sand and quickly sift it in search of microscopic food before gathering what's left behind into a sphere and throwing it behind its legs.

source: dailymail