Giant Carnivorous Crabs with Crushing Claws Complicate Amelia Earhart Quest on Remote Island

A Purdue University expedition searching for Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra encountered giant coconut crabs while clearing trails on Nikumaroro Island.

"Flesh-eating" crabs complicate the search for Amelia Earhart's plane

Giant carnivorous coconut crabs present an unusual challenge to the search team for Amelia Earhart's missing plane on the remote Pacific island of Nicomaru.

Purdue University confirmed Monday that the crew will sleep on their ship instead of on the island, citing the giant crustacean as one of the reasons for the decision.

The 17-member expedition team arrived from Nikkomaruru on Monday evening after a five-day journey across the Pacific Ocean and went ashore the next morning to begin looking for clues that could help solve Earhart's disappearance.

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The university said: "Crews spend the night at Marin Maineco for a number of reasons, one of which is the presence of coconut crabs, whose size and nocturnal activity make it impractical to stay on the island."

The team, which is 16 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), has already encountered massive crustaceans while working on the island.

In a statement Tuesday, Purdue University officials said researchers came across at least four coconut crabs while clearing a path of overgrowth into the island's lagoon.

Dubbed the Gallagher Highway, the trail had become severely overgrown since the last discovery, forcing researchers and crew members to use machetes and hand-held chainsaws to clear the trail.

The job took about two hours. Despite the crab encounter, the animals "did not pose any risk to the operation," according to the university.

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According to a 2011 report from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the coconut crab is considered the largest terrestrial arthropod.

The USGS report states that the crayfish dig shallow burrows for mating and moulting, and often maintain several burrows in their territory.

The USGS report added: "This species is omnivorous and scavengers, climbs trees to access food or escape, and can live for more than 40 years."

According to the Natural History Museum in London, coconut crabs are equipped with two strong pincers that can break through the tough outer shell of the coconut.

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The claws of crustaceans have serrated edges that act like teeth and allow them to break through hard shells.

"The grip pressure of a coconut crab can be much stronger than a human grip," said the museum.

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By testing 29 wild coconut crabs, the researchers found that their pincers could produce more than 1,765 newtons of force.

The museum added: For comparison, the maximum human bite force is between 1100 and 1300 newtons.

One photo released by Purdue University shows expedition member Sirisha Bandela smiling as she holds a giant coconut crab steak with its long legs and claws extended.

Expedition member Renato LaRocca, who had previously visited Nicomarero, acknowledged the challenges posed by the island's wildlife in a university statement on Oct. 9.

"Coconut crabs and hermit crabs are a problem, but otherwise it's a magical place," he says.

Despite the challenges, Rick Pettigrew, chief executive of the Archaeological Heritage Institute and expedition leader, said the team remained in "great spirits".

"We continue to be looked after by our highly capable Kiribati crew and we look forward to the work ahead," he added.

The expedition is investigating a mysterious anomaly.

The expedition is investigating a mysterious anomaly detected in satellite images that some researchers believe could be Earhart's missing Lockheed Electra.

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The search is rooted in the Nicomaru hypothesis, which suggests that Earhart's plane crashed near a remote island in the Pacific Ocean.

The island of Nicomaru is located in the South Pacific Ocean. (Google Maps)

Earhart was just 39 years old when she disappeared on July 2, 1937, during her attempt to become the first woman to fly around the world.

The famous aviator and his navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared on one of the last legs of their journey after taking off from The Hague, New Guinea, en route to Howland Island.