Huge crab with gigantic claws caught in the English Channel
A giant crab with a massive 'claw span' of nearly 3ft has been caught in the English Channel.
The enormous crab caught near Portsmouth packs claws so powerful they could "crush a man's wrist".
Aquarist Martyn Chandler is pictured carefully handling the crab, which was taken to the Blue Reef Aquarium in Southsea by a local fisherman.
With its foot-wide carapace and Popeye-like claws, the incredible crustacean will now go on display at the south coast aquarium and avoid the cooking pot.
Tests have shown that the crabs huge claws have a crushing strength of over 90lb per square inch - nearly four times that of a human hand.
"They use their giant claws to crush and tear their prey", said Martyn, adding: "Weighing in at over 4kg you wouldn't want to dip your toe in its rock pool."
While this crab might look like a beast, it's a baby in comparison to the Japanese spider crab (pictured below) - which has the largest leg span of any arthropod, measuring up to 12ft from claw to claw.
Its body can grow to a size of 40cm or 16in (carapace width) and the whole crab can weigh up to 19 kilograms (42lb).
They are mostly found off the southern coasts of the Japanese island of Honshū, from Tokyo Bay to Kagoshima Prefecture.
Adults can be found at depths between 50m and 600m (160ft and 1,970ft), and they like to inhabit vents and holes in the deeper parts of the ocean.
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