The cutest crab in the world: video of a tiny creature with a puzzled look went viral

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have come across a baby crab. They published a video with a small ocean dweller sitting in the palm of a scientist's hand.

The miniature crustacean won hearts on the Internet, and the video went viral on social media. It has garnered more than 10 million views on the NOAA Fisheries page on the X network.

Scientists found the crab in the Gulf of Mexico during a study when they were collecting samples of mesophotic and deep-sea coral species for laboratory cultivation and reproduction.

"This is the cutest, spikiest, tiniest crab in the world!" the scientists captioned their post

This species of crab is found in different regions, mainly in the waters of Central and South America, including the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and lives at a depth of 200 to 2000 meters underwater. So, according to scientists, the small crab was brought to the surface on a plastic bag that was raised from the seabed during an expedition in August 2024.

As seen in the video, it has a strong, spiny shell, typical of king crabs, which helps it avoid predation by hungry deep-sea creatures, NewsWeek writes.

The largest specimen of this species had a shell measuring 11.6 centimeters in diameter and 12.2 centimeters in length, not including the legs. That is, the crab in the video is far from life-size.

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