Klaus' Incredible Growth Spurt: A Guest Blog from CMTM's Live Exhibits Coordinator Colin Marshall
Klaus enjoying a quiet moment alongside friends in the Tide Pool tank.
Do you ever feel like your kids are growing up so fast that they almost seem to be getting taller overnight? While human growth rates can be surprising, CMTM’s live exhibits team recently saw a jaw-dropping growth spurt in our resident Atlantic Rock Crab, Klaus.
Like all crustaceans, Rock Crabs have a shell called an exoskeleton covering their bodies instead of having an internal endoskeleton like us vertebrates. However, exoskeletons do not grow along with their owners and need to be periodically molted in order for the crab to grow. During a molt, the back piece of the exoskeleton opens up like a lid, and the crab crawls out of its old shell to reveal a brand new shell underneath. However, these new shells start out soft and need some time to harden. If you’ve ever seen “soft-shell crab” on a menu, this is what they mean by that.
Klaus in June, 2024, shortly after his arrival to CMTM.
The Children’s Musuem & Theatre of Maine (CMTM) is home to several crustaceans; whenever one of them molts, we are always surprised at how much larger they are after. In this case, Klaus nearly doubled in size! Klaus lives on the rocky side of our Intertidal tank, and while he is fairly shy, he can generally be found peering out of his cave. Next time you visit the museum, be sure to visit From the Mountains to the Sea and see just how much our guy has grown!
Klaus (left) with his molt (right).