6.1K views · 143 reactions | Behold the stunning spinybacked orb weaver spider! Mistakenly called “crab spiders,” spinybacked orb weavers belong to the same family as most other species that make “classic” spider webs with circles and spokes (orb webs). True crab spiders belong to another family entirely and don’t make webs at all. ️ #BeKindToSpidersWeek | Audubon Nature Institute | Facebook

Japanese spider crabs put the “leg” in “legendary!” These crustacean sensations are the largest crabs in the world, with ten appendages that can span up to 12 feet (3.8 meters) from claw to claw. These gangly, glorious giants travel easily over mud on their long and limber legs to scavenge leftover scraps or dead animals that fall from above. Our new exhibit, “Into the Deep: Exploring Our Undiscovered Ocean,” features a whale-fall community living around the model bones of a young sperm whale, i