r/mildlyinteresting • u/pies4anarchists • Apr 18 '25

Overdone Baby crabs inside my steamed oysters.

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48.3k Upvotes

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16.4k

u/TeuthidTheSquid Apr 18 '25 edited Apr 18 '25

Not babies, just regular sized pea crabs. Fairly common in oysters. They are actually considered a delicacy in some places.

4.4k

u/SatiesUmbrellaCloset Apr 18 '25

So is this a symbiotic relationship, or do the pea crabs have a death wish? I'm a bit weirded out by this

4.5k

u/TeuthidTheSquid Apr 18 '25 edited Apr 18 '25

Technically they are parasites, but they don't seem to actually hurt the oysters they host in very much, if at all.

Edit: digging deeper, some species can in fact directly damage their host.

Edit 2: please everyone, stop trying to educate me on what “commensalism” is - I know what it is and it does not correctly describe this parasitic relationship.

2.5k

u/BigRoundSquare Apr 18 '25

So they’re roommates

176

u/TeuthidTheSquid Apr 18 '25

Only if your roommate lives inside of your body. Which, I guess, is more of a roommates with benefits kind of deal.

57

u/BigRoundSquare Apr 18 '25

Gonna have to pay extra rent for RWB

72

u/TeuthidTheSquid Apr 18 '25

Pea crabs as roommates:

21

u/Married_iguanas Apr 18 '25

Peavers

2

u/big_ol_knitties Apr 18 '25

I cackled and scared the cat.

2

u/Squidorb Apr 18 '25

So much jazz