Pom-pom Crab

The pom-pom crab, also known as the boxer crab, is a small crab found on coral reefs and rubble flats across the Indo-Pacific. It carries a small stinging sea anemone gripped in each of its claws, using the anemones both as a defensive weapon against predators and as a means of gathering scraps of food stirred up while foraging. If the crab loses one of its anemones, it can prompt the remaining one to divide in two, allowing the crab to regrow a matched pair rather than going without. This behavior is one of the clearest known examples of a crustacean actively cultivating and wielding another living animal as a tool. The crab itself is small and inconspicuous, relying on the anemones' stinging cells for protection rather than any size or strength of its own. It typically lives in shallow reef habitat, moving among rubble and coral debris while keeping its anemone-tipped claws ready to defend against approaching threats.